Conservatives have a boatload of gall to call for liberals to have some empathy now after the way they treated Obama for eight years.

I will give the Mango Mussolini and other republicans all the empathy and deference that Mitch McConnell had for Obama when he uttered "Our number one priority is to make sure that Barack Obama is a one term president."

I have been patient, friendly, and empathetic for far too long. There is little reason for me to treat conservatives as anything other than the petulant, self-absorbed, willfully ignorant, obnoxious bullies they are.

If you want to get on my good side, you could start with getting Merrick Garland approved for the Supreme Court, the way he should have been months ago.

"Conservatives have a boatload of gall to call for liberals to have some empathy now after the way they treated Obama for eight years"

conservatives don't like Trump any more than liberals do, they're just more civil and, frankly, confident in their positions

"I will give the Mango Mussolini and other republicans all the empathy and deference that Mitch McConnell had for Obama when he uttered "Our number one priority is to make sure that Barack Obama is a one term president.""

resisting an agenda is a little different than what's going on here

SNL never mocked Obama's children

nobody was discriminating in housing against people who voted for Obama

no schools were offering counseling to students to deal with the results of the 2008 election

no one was taking to the street, smashing windows and burning up cars

"I have been patient, friendly, and empathetic for far too long."

actually, you dropped that farce a couple of years ago and have talking about it ever since

it's ancient history

"There is little reason for me to treat conservatives"

well, it's either that, or trick

"as anything other than the petulant, self-absorbed, willfully ignorant, obnoxious bullies they are."

it takes a lot of gall for liberals to project their own character flaws like that

"If you want to get on my good side, you could start with getting Merrick Garland approved for the Supreme Court, the way he should have been months ago."

the last four Presidents, including Obama, have appointed two justices each

that's enough, especially since Obama lost more constitutional challenges in court than any other President, despite the fact that he was a constitutional scholar

he obviously had an agenda to overthrow the Constitution - it was intentional

and, let's be honest, all liberals do

they think it's an ink blot test to be used to fulfill whatever hair they have up their ass

free speech, freedom of religion, right to bear arms, it's all a problem for liberals

meanwhile, Hillary wanted to make the killing of viable unborn children a constitutional right

Most of King Donald the orange's kids are adults (as far as we know), some are running his companies in a clear conflict of interest. They are fair game. His youngest one should probably be with Child Protective Services to protect him from his father.

"nobody was discriminating in housing against people who voted for Obama"

Funny, you thought it was perfectly fine when people could discriminate against trans people in housing. Your concern for housing discrimination now rings very, very hollow. Especially since there was a gun store, I think a dentist, and several other places that wouldn't serve Obama voters.

"no schools were offering counseling to students to deal with the results of the 2008 election"

True, but in 2008 we didn't elect a tic-tac popping serial sexual assaulter that likes hanging out with white supremacists. Go figure.

"no one was taking to the street, smashing windows and burning up cars"

That was probably a false flag operation paid for by conservatives. Liberals caught one of those operations before it could do harm, but unless you catch every single one, it still looks bad.

"actually, you dropped that farce a couple of years ago and have talking about it ever since"

Yeah, well if I dwell on your stupidity and lies too long, it puts me in a bad mood. Consider yourself lucky.

"it takes a lot of gall for liberals to project their own character flaws like that"

I'm not a perfect person, and I never claimed to be. But there is something called "self-awareness" in a universe far away from you that you should investigate some time.

"the last four Presidents, including Obama, have appointed two justices each"

Keep rationalizing it however you like, but there is no constitutional justification for that. If Republicans can stop a nomination for nine months, why shouldn't Dems do it to? Maybe for 12 months even, or heck why not 48? What's good for the goose is even better for the gander.

The last Republican president didn't win the popular vote or the electoral college - he was declared the winner by the Supreme Court. Democrats were too nice then. They have since learned that if you give Republicans an inch, they'll take it two miles. It's time for that to stop.

"no one was taking to the street, smashing windows and burning up cars"

No, they took to the FL State Board of Elections for the express purpose to shut down the careful recounting of paper ballot votes so another POPULAR VOTE LOSER could claim the Presidency and lead us into the Great Recession while his crony friends got rich.

Sound familiar?

And anyone who thinks those protesters were not Grab Our Pussy Party paid protesters has another think coming.

The Brooks Brothers Rioters were "Hundreds of paid GOP operatives descended upon South Florida to protest the state's recounts,[1] with at least half a dozen of the demonstrators at Miami-Dade paid by George W. Bush's recount committee.[2] Several of these protesters were identified as Republican staffers and a number later went on to jobs in the Bush administration.

Roger Stone,[14] a self-described "GOP Hitman"[15] and former member of Nixon's Committee for the Re-Election of the PresidentMatt Schlapp, a former House aide who became the White House political director during the Bush administrationGarry Malphrus, who became deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council during the Bush administrationRory Cooper, a former staffer for the National Republican Congressional CommitteeTom Pyle, a former Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) stafferRoger Morse, a former House aide who became a lobbyistDuane Gibson, an aide on the House Resources Committee who became a lobbyist and consultantChuck Royal, legislative assistant to Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.),Layna McConkey Peltier, a former Senate and House aideKevin Smith, a former GOP House aideSteven Brophy, a former GOP Senate aideJeff Bloemker, a former aide to Sen. Fred Thompson R-TN)"

"Most of King Donald the orange's kids are adults (as far as we know), some are running his companies in a clear conflict of interest. They are fair game"

the one mocked on SNL is 10

"His youngest one should probably be with Child Protective Services to protect him from his father"

you only are safe from lawsuit here because Trump is a politician, but this is a despicable thing to say

"Funny, you thought it was perfectly fine when people could discriminate against trans people in housing. Your concern for housing discrimination now rings very, very hollow."

as always, you confuse legal and inappropriate

not every problem needs a law

I don't think there should be laws against discriminating in rental housing

people should be free to rent to whomever they please ... legally

I'm also free to point out the inappropriateness of shunning anyone who voted for a different candidate than you, although I'm not proposing legislation

it's another decline in our civil society, brought to us by the folks at gay agenda central

"True, but in 2008 we didn't elect a tic-tac popping serial sexual assaulter that likes hanging out with white supremacists. Go figure."

No, we elected a guy who idolized his anti-American socialist Muslim foreigner father and who went to a church where the preacher preached sermons like "God damn America" and who had his first fundraiser put on by a domestic terrorist and whose wife said she was never proud of her country until her husband was nominated for President. For all we know, he may have popped tic-tacs as well .. it's such an egregious practice

"That was probably a false flag operation paid for by conservatives"

oh sure

remember how conservatives are called liars by TTF when they speculate without proof?

Cynthia just told a biiig lie

"Yeah, well if I dwell on your stupidity and lies too long, it puts me in a bad mood. Consider yourself lucky."

oooo, I'm so lucky

who knows if cinco gets mad what will be said

"I'm not a perfect person,"

is that why you want to make sure to point everyone else's imperfections?

like this?:

"But there is something called "self-awareness" in a universe far away from you that you should investigate some time."

thanks so much for sharing!

"Keep rationalizing it however you like, but there is no constitutional justification for that."

actually, under the Constitution, Congress doesn't have to consent until it receives an acceptable candidate

given Obama's track record in court on Constitutional matters, they were entitled to be leery

and if Americans were bothered by this, they could have elected Hillary

if Obama had nominated Neil Gorsuch, btw, he'd have sailed through

"If Republicans can stop a nomination for nine months, why shouldn't Dems do it to?"

because the American voter hasn't given them that power

Dems started the politicization of SCOTUS nominees with Robert Bork

"Maybe for 12 months even, or heck why not 48? What's good for the goose is even better for the gander."

and Harry Reid made sure Dems won't be able to stop Trump

Trump's the gander

"The last Republican president didn't win the popular vote or the electoral college - he was declared the winner by the Supreme Court"

we didn't hold a popular vote

Bush won the electoral college when issues in the Florida vote were decided by SCOTUS

there were issues that hold to be decided, they weren't clearcut, regardless of Dem propaganda

the recount in an election that close could go on forever, it had to end

The ouster of Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, caught by intelligence agencies speaking with the Russian ambassador about U.S. sanctions and then misleading administration officials about the interactions, marked the latest chapter in a months-long saga in which Trump has been unable to break free from the shadow of the United States’ longtime rival.

Two advisers left the campaign amid questions about their ties to Moscow and the oligarchs that hold sway there. The FBI is probing ties between Trump associates and Russia, as is the Senate Intelligence Committee [but not the House because according to House Oversight Chairman Chaffetz there's no need to investigate Flynn "It's Taking Care of Itself" What about finding out exactly what Flynn and OTHER RUSSIAN CONTACTS from the Trump campaign/White House were about? Chaffetz is not interested, he can go fuck himself.]. The president himself has repeatedly praised Russia’s authoritarian leader, Vladi­mir Putin, while he has long expressed a desire to build a Trump Tower in Moscow and boasted of how the Trump brand holds special appeal for Russian investors.

All of this coincided with Russia’s role in last year’s U.S. election, in which the Kremlin is accused by U.S. intelligence agencies of orchestrating hacks that targeted Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and her top aides to weaken her campaign. FBI Director James B. Comey also last month briefed Trump on accusations that the Russians hold compromising material about him, an unverified claim found in a dossier written by a former British spy hired by Trump’s political opponents. Trump has rejected the claim as “fake news.”

Now the foreign power that allegedly hoped to help Trump gain power is in a position to undermine his grip on it, with Flynn’s departure lending new gravity and intensity to long-simmering questions about Trump and Russia.

There are many important aspects to this story. Did Trump know about or facilitate Flynn’s call to Russia and his subsequent lying to Vice President Pence about it? Why are Republican leaders going out of their way to not fully investigate this potentially very serious matter? Why can’t press secretary Sean Spicer remotely explain the timeline of events or logic behind how it was finally decided that Flynn would resign? What does all of this say about Trump’s self-proclaimed magic touch when it comes to hiring the “best” people, which many voters hung their hat on in order to justify voting for him? And if Trump is supposedly a genius who tweets distractions so we won’t focus on other more damaging stories, why has he been incredibly quiet the last two days on Twitter?

Now we are not even thirty days into Trumplandia and already the US Courts have ruled the pussy brabber's Muslim ban is unconstitutional and now some US Senate committees, but not Chaffee's House Oversight Committee, feel compelled to sort out the apparent complete disregard for adherence to our laws by your Pro-Putin Pussy Predator President and his Russian-tinged administration.

"as for Flynn, Spicer made clear..."

Spicer had nothing to do with decisions about Flynn so he could only clarify what he has been told.

Spicer is another paid mouthpiece, like Kellyanne Conjob, and his hearsay would not be admissible in a court of law.

Cynthia said "Funny, you thought it was perfectly fine when people could discriminate against trans people in housing. Your concern for housing discrimination now rings very, very hollow."

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "as always, you confuse legal and inappropriate not every problem needs a law I don't think there should be laws against discriminating in rental housing people should be free to rent to whomever they please ... legally I'm also free to point out the inappropriateness of shunning anyone who voted for a different candidate than you, although I'm not proposing legislation".

You, as usual, evade the point. that you alleged you don't think there should be laws against discriminating in rental housing (you're fine with laws against discriminating against christians) but that's irrelevant. The point is that you whine about it being inappropriate to discriminate against Trump voters but are fine with discrimination against Trans people. So, as Cynthia said "Your concern for housing discrimination now rings very, very, hollow" - you're a hypocrite.

Cynthia said "True, but in 2008 we didn't elect a tic-tac popping serial sexual assaulter that likes hanging out with white supremacists. Go figure."

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "No, we elected a guy who idolized his anti-American socialist Muslim foreigner father and who went to a church where the preacher preached sermons like "God damn America" and who had his first fundraiser put on by a domestic terrorist and whose wife said she was never proud of her country until her husband was nominated for President. For all we know, he may have popped tic-tacs as well .. it's such an egregious practice".

Irrelevant. Obama never supported all the things the people he was associated with did. And of course that's trivial compared to Trump's constant fawning over the anti-american Putin.

Cynthia said "That was probably a false flag operation paid for by conservatives"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "oh sure remember how conservatives are called liars by TTF when they speculate without proof? Cynthia just told a biiig lie".

I don't think anyone has claimed you're a liar for speculating about possible things, its your "speculating" about impossible things that gets you branded (appropriately) a liar. You don't have any proof that Cynthia lied about this and both her and good anonymous pointed verified incidents of false flag operations where conservatives posed as rioting liberals.

Cynthia said "I'm not a perfect person,"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "is that why you want to make sure to point everyone else's imperfections? like this?: "But there is something called "self-awareness" in a universe far away from you that you should investigate some time.".".

LOL, there's a YUGE difference between Cynthia's trivial imperfections and your GIGANTIC scumbagiosity. She's in many ways the epitome of feminine goodness while you promote and take delight in assaults on, demonization, imprisonment, and murder of innocent LGBT people. Remove the log in your own eye before you worry about the mote in hers. Word.

Cynthia said "Keep rationalizing it however you like, but there is no constitutional justification for [not holding hearings on a presidents nominee]."

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "actually, under the Constitution, Congress doesn't have to consent until it receives an acceptable candidate given Obama's track record in court on Constitutional matters, they were entitled to be leery".

Wow, I don't know which is more outrageous, your (feigned?) ignorance or your hypocrisy. Prior to Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland Republicans had praised him left and right and given him as an example of the sort of moderate justice Obama should nominate. Republicans ranted about how he was an acceptable candidate, they only refused to hold hearings on him because of who nominated him.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "and if Americans were bothered by this, they could have elected Hillary".

LOL, they did! Trump was made president based on a technicality. Trump lost the popular vote by the largest margine of any person to "win" a presidential election.

Gorsuch is the epitome of an unacceptable candidate. He's a facist whose votes cannot be explained by any consistent theory of constitutional interpretation but were instead driven by his own policy preferences.

Cynthia said "If Republicans can stop a nomination for nine months, why shouldn't Dems do it to?"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "because the American voter hasn't given them that power"

The American voters didn't give Republicans the power to block Merricke Garland. The American constitution is clear "The president will appoint supreme court justices...", not might, not could, not should, but "WILL".

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "Dems started the politicization of SCOTUS nominees with Robert Bork".

Nonsense. Bork was a train wreck, there was nothing political about the opposition to him.

Cynthia said "The last Republican president didn't win the popular vote or the electoral college - he was declared the winner by the Supreme Court"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "we didn't hold a popular vote".

Yes you did. And both Bush and Trump lost it. They both "won" on technicalities. If you were a good christian you'd recognize that its morally right to follow the spirit of democracy rather than the technicalities of the law. The American public denied both Bush and Trump a moral right to rule.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "Bush won the electoral college when issues in the Florida vote were decided by SCOTUS there were issues that hold [sic] to be decided, they weren't clearcut, regardless of Dem propaganda the recount in an election that close could go on forever, it had to end".

A pitiful and dishonest Republican excuse for subverting democracy. The issues were clearcut, there was no propaganda, the recount most certainly could NOT have "gone on forever", it would have been decided in a reasonable time frame Gore was gaining votes in the recount and that's why Republicans and Republican justices on the Supreme court were desperate to stop it. Republicans have a long history of subverting democracy, witness the voter suppression in the last election and the collusion of Republican director Comey and Republican politicians with the Russians to bias the election against Hillary.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "I remember a time when Dems accused the GOP of excessive hostility to Russia they howled when Reagan called them an evil empire they said we had to try to get along so, this new-found Dem antipathy to Russia, which is nowhere near the menace it was in Cold War times, is so obviously political crap"

That's a lie. The Democratic party was never in favour of collusion with the Russians during the Cold War. And the Cold War has started again, things are rapidly deteriorating with Russia. For the first time since World War II a European country has invaded a sovereign neighbour and taken over its land, things are arguable worse now than they were during the cold war.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "we are not in fact in state of war with Russia the Constitution doesn't require enmity between us".

The U.S. was not in a state of war with Russia during the Cold War when Regan called them the evil empire but we don't hear you saying how Regan was wrong then to condemn Russia. And no one said your constitution required enmity but it sure as hell doesn't require looking the other way while Russia invades sovereign nations, interferes in elections in the U.S. and in Europe in an effort to promote its own anti-democratic authoritarian style of governing, and breaks arms treaties it signed with the U.S.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "Trump and his team can legitimately argue a different approach to our relations with them".

No, they most certainly cannot "argue a different approach". Russia has deployed a prohibited cruise missle breaking an arms treaty with the U.S. and has told his commanders to be prepared for war. Russia is pushing the boundaries and will continue to push farther and farther as they know Trump won't stand up to them. This is how Hitler started World War II. The cold war has resumed and Russia is once again a threat to democracies around the world and is colluding with Trump against to destroy NATO and increase Russian power and influence at the expense of Western democracies.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "yeah, Putin is a bad character the world has lots of them".

And that's why Trumps constant fawning over Putin is so alarming. Trump won't stand up to Putin and will in fact aid Putin in spreading anti-democratic authoritarian regimes around the world. Even many Republicans are becoming alarmed by Trump's pro-Putin stances and are supporting a bi-partisan investigation into the Trump administration's collusion with the Russians.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "as for Flynn, Spicer made clear he was fired for lying about his meeting".

LOL, Spicer's a joke. He laughably also claimed "no one has been harder on Russia than Trump" even though there's no record of Trump doing anything but providing effusive praise of Putin and claiming that Putin's killing of journalists and political opponents is no worse than what the U.S. does. You never saw Obama (or any other president for that matter) killing journalists writing critical stories of him.

Trump was informed on January 26th that Flynn had lied about talking about sanctions with the Russian ambassador. Trump was fine with that and even allowed Pence to be misled by Flynn and later make public statments supporting Flynn's false claim that he didn't talk about the sanctions in December. Trump was fine with Flynn's lying until a few hours after the Washinton Post broke the story that Flynn had lied. Then and only then, almost three weeks later did Trump suddenly become not okay with Flynn's lie. The only thing that changed between the time Trump was told about Flynn lying and Trump firing him was that the news became public. Up intil then Flynn had beein involved in all kinds of high level confidential security meetings with Trump's full support. Flynn was compromised and who knows what type of confidential information he passed on to the Russians. There's no reason to believe Flynn wouldn't still be in his position and attending classified meetings if the information about his lying hadn't become public.

And it simply isn't believable that Flynn was some kind of rogue actor who called the Russian ambassador five times that day without Trump's approval and direction. Trump almost certainly instructed Flynn to call the Russian ambassador and discuss sanctions. Once again, Trump is weak on Russia and won't stand up to Putin's strongman moves to dominate the U.S. and the world.

And let's not forget that more damning information keeps coming out about the Trump administration's collusion with the Russian. The U.S. intelligence agencies have uncovered proof that several Trump 2016 campaign members had contact with various Russian intelligence agents throughout the 2016 campaign.

On an almost hourly basis more damning evidence keeps coming out about corruption in the Trump 2016 campaign staff and his current administration.

Its hard to believe that these hypocrites tried to make a big deal out of Hillary's private email server when they've actively colluded with Russia.

And let's not forget that Flynn, Trump's National Security Advisor took regular trips to Russia and in 2015 was in Russia as an honoured guest of Putin at the anniversary party of the RT television station which is the propaganda arm of the Russian government. Flynn sat at Putin's right hand and gave standing ovations to honour RT and Putin.

God help the U.S. for what national secrets Flynn might have given to Russian intelligence.

Trump was fine with knowing Flynn lied about discussing sanctions with the Russian ambassador in December. Trump knew about that at least on January 26th and was content with Flynn's lying for almost three weeks, even declining to make set the record straight after Pence went on the Sunday morning talk shows denying Flynn had talked about santions and Trump knew that wasn't true. Trump was fine with the Flynn's lies and Pence backing up Flynn until it became public knowledge. If it weren't for the Washington Post in all likelihood Flynn would still be in his position and sitting in on national security meetings and possibly passing on sensitive information to Russian intelligence.

"There are many important aspects to this story. Did Trump know about or facilitate Flynn’s call to Russia and his subsequent lying to Vice President Pence about it?"

uh, why us that important?

"Why are Republican leaders going out of their way to not fully investigate this potentially very serious matter?"

uh, how do you "go out of the way" to NOT do something?

it's an inherently ludicrous statement, indicative of someone who wants to argue but can't figure out what to argue about

and why is this a "potentially very serious matter"?

it's actually not unheard of for President-elects to contact other countries

Russia is hardly our worst enemy is the world

they're a third-rate economic entity that can barely afford to make payroll

much like WWII, they're also willing to ally with us against some truly evil forces

that may or may not be a good idea but our President thinks it is, and made that clear in his campaign, and was elected with an impressive victory that swept across the nation

"Why can’t press secretary Sean Spicer remotely explain the timeline of events or logic behind how it was finally decided that Flynn would resign?"

well, I answered that and one of the jackass TTFers said:

"Spicer had nothing to do with decisions about Flynn so he could only clarify what he has been told.

Spicer is another paid mouthpiece, like Kellyanne Conjob, and his hearsay would not be admissible in a court of law."

so make up your mind, you jokes

do you want Trump's spokesmen to speak for him or not?

"What does all of this say about Trump’s self-proclaimed magic touch when it comes to hiring the “best” people, which many voters hung their hat on in order to justify voting for him?"

I've got news for you

people voted for him so Hillary wouldn't appoint a SCOTUS justice

"And if Trump is supposedly a genius who tweets distractions so we won’t focus on other more damaging stories, why has he been incredibly quiet the last two days on Twitter?"

it's funny how liberals act like Kremlinologists, trying to read into everything

it's because something is happening, and they don't know what it is

do they, Mr Jones?

I remember a time when Dems accused the GOP of excessive hostility to Russia

they howled when Reagan called them an evil empire

they said we had to try to get along

so, this new-found Dem antipathy to Russia, which is nowhere near the menace it was in Cold War times, is so obviously political crap

we are not in fact in state of war with Russia

the Constitution doesn't require enmity between us

Trump and his team can legitimately argue a different approach to our relations with them

yeah, Putin is a bad character

the world has lots of them

as for Flynn, Spicer made clear he was fired for lying about his meeting

"Now we are not even thirty days into the Trump era and already the US Courts have ruled the guy who destroyed the liberal agenda's Muslim ban is unconstitutional"

that would be some trick since Trump didn't ban Muslims

why do liberals feel compelled to lie?

"and now some US Senate committees feel compelled to sort out the apparent complete disregard for adherence to our laws by the guy who the election, and won big, and his Russian-tinged administration."

I don't think any US Senate committees are doing that

just because Jared Kushner doesn't wear his seat belt, that's not a COMPLETE disregard and there is no need to make a Federal case out of it

Good anonymous said "There are many important aspects to this story. Did Trump know about or facilitate Flynn’s call to Russia and his subsequent lying to Vice President Pence about it?"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "uh, why us that important?"

Because Trump tried to blame Flynn for it and claimed Flynn was a rogue agent acting without Trump's knowledge. To answer one of those questions, Trump did know about Flynn lying to Pence as Trump learned about Flynn's conversation about sanctions on January 26th and Pence was defending Flynn sometime after that.

Good anonymous said "Why are Republican leaders going out of their way to not fully investigate this potentially very serious matter?"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "uh, how do you "go out of the way" to NOT do something? it's an inherently ludicrous statement, indicative of someone who wants to argue but can't figure out what to argue about and why is this a "potentially very serious matter"?"

You repeatedly sidestep calls to investigate it, deflect questions about it, and pretend there's nothing wrong with the Russians having the Trump administration capitulate on everything Russia wants to do to reassert its former cold war control over countries surrounding it. Russia has annexed Crimea and invaded the Ukraine. It's broke an arms limitation treaty by testing a prohibited cruise missel. Russia is interfering in the elections of Western democracies to undermine the West and try and promote its authoritarian style of dictatorship. Russia is seeking to break up Nato so there will be no opposition to its attempts to increase its control over the world at the expense of countries like the U.S. and Trump is signing on to Putin's agenda to assert power over the United States.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "it's actually not unheard of for President-elects to contact other countries Russia is hardly our worst enemy is the world they're a third-rate economic entity that can barely afford to make payroll much like WWII, they're also willing to ally with us against some truly evil forces".

First and foremost Russia interfered in the U.S. election and attempted to subvert American democracy - that is a very serious matter that should concern all patriotic Americans. Russia is fighting on behalf of Assad in Syria and against U.S. forces supporting the overthrow of this dictator who has killed and displaced millions of innocent Syrians he does not have the support of. Russia claims to want to fight ISIS but is doing nothing to do so and is in fact attacking factions who are fighting against ISIS in Syria. Russia is an ally of Iran and is supportive of Iran obtaining Nuclear weapons. Russia is working against American interests around the world, they are most certainly no ally of the U.S.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "that may or may not be a good idea but our President thinks it is, and made that clear in his campaign, and was elected with an impressive victory that swept across the nation".

LOL, Trump lost the popular vote by the largest margin of any person to "win" a presidential election. He is president because of a technicality

Good anonymous said "Why can’t press secretary Sean Spicer remotely explain the timeline of events or logic behind how it was finally decided that Flynn would resign?"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "well, I answered that and one of the jackass TTFers said: "Spicer had nothing to do with decisions about Flynn so he could only clarify what he has been told."."

You most certainly did not answer it. You absurdly claimed Trump fired Flynn because he lied but that's obviously not true as Trump knew Flynn lied on or before January 26th and had no problem for almost three weeks with that lie and had Flynn sitting in on national security meetings. It was only after it became public that Flynn lied that Trump decided he needed to fire him. Two weeks after Trump had been told Flynn lied he denied knowing that when asked about it by a reporter - Trump lied about the lying. Today Trump complained that the leaks made it necessary for him to fire Flynn, essentially admitting that the problem was not that Flynn lied but that knowledge of that became public. If this hadn't become public Flynn would still be in his position and sitting in on top secret security briefings and possibly spilling intelligence to the Russians.

Good anonymous said "What does all of this say about Trump’s self-proclaimed magic touch when it comes to hiring the “best” people, which many voters hung their hat on in order to justify voting for him?"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said I've got news for you. people voted for him so Hillary wouldn't appoint a SCOTUS justice".

The majority of Americans WANTED Hillary to appoint the SCOTUS justice. She won the popular vote by almost 3 million votes. Trump "won" on a technicality, he has the legal right to govern but he doesn't have the moral right to do so.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "I remember a time when Dems accused the GOP of excessive hostility to Russia they howled when Reagan called them an evil empire they said we had to try to get along so, this new-found Dem antipathy to Russia, which is nowhere near the menace it was in Cold War times, is so obviously political crap".

At that time Russia was moderating and moving towards democracy. It made sense at the time to encourage things to continue go in the right direction. Russia was signing arms reduction treaties and de-escalating the cold war. Now Russia is breaking arms reduction treaties and Putin is telling his generals to be ready for war. Russia is now moving backwards into an authoritarian dictatorship that that is dismantling its democratic institutions, threatens the world and the Trump administration is cheering that on. Russia was a lot less of a threat at the time of Reagan than it is now.

Good anonymous said "Now we are not even thirty days into the Trump era and already the US Courts have ruled the pussy grabber's Muslim ban is unconstitutional"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "that would be some trick since Trump didn't ban Muslims why do liberals feel compelled to lie?".

Its you who's lying. When Spicer said it wasn't a Muslim ban Trump contradicted him and said "Call it a ban if you want to". The claims that it wasn't a Muslim ban were destroyed when Trump made exceptions for christians and Jews in those countries to enter the U.S. - only Muslims from those countries were refused entry to the U.S., it WAS a Muslim ban.

Good anonymous said "and now some US Senate committees feel compelled to sort out the apparent complete disregard for adherence to our laws by your Pro-Putin Pussy Predator President and his Russian-tinged administration."

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "I don't think any US Senate committees are doing that".

Well, you're wrong. A number of Republican senators have come forward and said this needs to be investigated and some U.S. senate committes are looking into it.

The monthly anomaly of the global average surface temperature in January 2017 (i.e. the average of the near-surface air temperature over land and the SST) was +0.39°C above the 1981-2010 average (+0.78°C above the 20th century average), and was the 2nd warmest since 1891. On a longer time scale, global average surface temperatures have risen at a rate of about 0.76°C per century.

Five Warmest Years (Anomalies)

1st. 2016(+0.52°C), 2nd. 2017(+0.39°C), 3rd. 2015,2007,2002(+0.29°C)

So far, they can only compare the months of January but already 2017 is continuing the record breaking heat trend.

"Well, first thing that pops into my mind would be Mitch McConnell's obstruction of every thing Obama tried to do, even and especially Romneycare"

actually, Romneycare is currently the law of the land, even though the American people have clearly opposed it from the beginning

as for other Obama agenda items, they didn't have to "go out of their way"

they owed it to the American people to stand up for the principles on which they were elected

obviously, Congress was meant to be a check, not a rubberstamp

"and then as has been in the news of late, Congressmen running out of their own town hall meetings because their constituents were telling them their views"

when liberals hire and organize professional agitators, it is wise not to engage them

kind of like I do with the foreign agitator who posts so much here

I don't have to go out of my way, in any sense

it's a breeze to ignore the nasty anti-American

"You couldn't think of any yourself, huh?"

no, and neither could you

the phrase is an oxymoron

simply put, you can't go out of your way to do nothing

"Sad!"

yes, the predicament the liberal agendists have created for themselves has filled them with remorse

if only, they had backed Bernie rather than Hillary

"The guy who won a great victory over liberals in November has changed Spicer's script from Flynn was fired for lying about phone calls with Russians to claim Flynn was treated ‘very unfairly' by the press then ducking questions on Russia."

kind of contradictory, huh?

no matter, the whole thing is not that important

"Trump is back in Florida for another rally this weekend

He thinks those big bad courts blocked his Muslim ban and the evil enemy press cost him his advisor Flynn"

he didn't ban Muslims

there are numerous Muslim countries whose citizens aren't banned

the temporary ban is only on countries that Baracky Obama classified as terrorist havens

"So he decided he'll return to what he did so successfully before, campaigning.

But the campaign is over"

he sees the source of his power as his constituents, as it should be

rallies are a good way to demonstrate that to Congress

its actually a preferable method of suasion compared to the usual tactic of buying them off with wasteful pork, at the expense of taxpayers

"After a few weeks of having to do the job of President, the guy who won a great victory over liberals is going to go to a party instead of going to work"

haha, well you seem to have done a lot of complaining that he's doing too much

you might want to be consistent, it makes you look bad

"Sad!"

yes, "nasty woman" bitterly regrets backing Hillary

"The monthly anomaly of the global average surface temperature in January 2017"

isn't it great?

it's going to be 70 on Sunday

and none of the consequences of the alarmists have come true

the latest is that the California drought has ended and the state can't retain the water because lunatics have blocked building an adequate dam system for the population in the Golden State

"when liberals hire and organize professional agitators, it is wise not to engage them"

Without proof, you are spreading more bullshit fake news.

I will not hold my breath waiting for your proof that will never come because you are a known echo chamber of fake news here on Vigilance.

"simply put, you can't go out of your way to do nothing"

You went out of your way to not to click any of the links I provided, didn't you?

Trump thinks he knows it all without reading too.

Sad!

You missed how Mitch McConnell went out of his way to do nothing but obstruct.

"• Vice President Biden told me that during the transition, he was warned not to expect any bipartisan cooperation on major votes. “I spoke to seven different Republican Senators who said, ‘Joe, I’m not going to be able to help you on anything,’ ” he recalled. His informants said McConnell had demanded unified resistance. “The way it was characterized to me was, ‘For the next two years, we can’t let you succeed in anything. That’s our ticket to coming back,’ ” Biden said. The Vice President said he hasn’t even told Obama who his sources were, but Bob Bennett of Utah and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania both confirmed they had conversations with Biden along those lines...

...“The leadership decided there was no play to be had,” he says. Republicans recognized that after Obama’s big promises about bipartisanship, they could break those promises by refusing to cooperate. In the words of Congressman Tom Cole, a deputy Republican whip: “We wanted the talking point: ‘The only thing bipartisan was the opposition.’ ”

"...Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein joined together to demand answers from the Justice Department and the FBI surrounding Michael Flynn’s – and the Trump administration’s – connections to Russia...

"We request that individuals with specific knowledge of these issues from both the FBI and Justice Department brief Committee Members and staff. We similarly request copies of the transcripts of Mr. Flynn’s intercepted calls and the FBI report summarizing the intercepted calls referenced in the media. We anticipate that some of these documents may be classified, some may not, and others may contain both classified and unclassified information."

...The bipartisan letter comes on the heels of an admission by GOP Intel Chairman Devin Nunes who, according to Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, said he “would investigate everything that the Senate is looking at, including the Flynn allegations.”

Donald Trump can continue to blame the media and dodge questions surrounding his president campaign’s relationship to Russia, but his administration soon may have no choice but to come clean as leaders in both parties demand a thorough investigation.

Flynn’s resignation was not the end of this massive scandal; it’s just getting started.

Watch the polls as the transcripts come out.

Personally, I can't wait to see him doing the perp walk and plan to cheer him on his way, chanting "LOCK HIM UP!"

truth is, pro-family forces were awakened by the threat of Hillary appointing a SCOTUS justice

as Hillary said before the election, the leaked e-mails were already baked into the cake anyway

"Donald Trump can continue to blame the media and dodge questions surrounding his president campaign’s relationship to Russia, but his administration soon may have no choice but to come clean as leaders in both parties demand a thorough investigation."

oh, they'll be one but it's hard to see what could come out that would be a problem

Trump was planning to change the Russian relationship

he campaigned on doing that and won

"Flynn’s resignation was not the end of this massive scandal; it’s just getting started."

it's not much of a scandal

"Personally, I can't wait to see him doing the perp walk and plan to cheer him on his way, chanting "LOCK HIM UP!""

Without proof, you are spreading more fake news.

I will not hold my breath waiting for your proof that will never come because you are a known echo chamber of fake news here on Vigilance.

Good anonymous said "Well, first thing that pops into my mind would be Mitch McConnell's obstruction of every thing Obama tried to do, even and especially Romneycare"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "actually, Romneycare is currently the law of the land, even though the American people have clearly opposed it from the beginning".

Interesting that you should bring that up. Republicans were all for the features of Obamacare until Obama was the one promoting it, then they were suddenly against it. And of course you're lying again, the vast majority of Americans have always approved of the features of Obamacare and "The Affordable Care Act" which they didn't realize was the same thing as Obamacare due to Republican lies and obfuscation. And now the popularity of Obamacare is growing and the majority of Americans want to keep it.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "as for other Obama agenda items, they didn't have to "go out of their way" they owed it to the American people to stand up for the principles on which they were elected obviously, Congress was meant to be a check, not a rubberstamp".

The vast majority of the American people want Congress to work together to accomplish things on behalf of Americans. Congress was meant to do that, not to obstruct every positive thing the party in power attempts to do. Congress has abysmally low approval numbers precisely because Republicans did everything possible to prevent any progress. Republicans stated at the outset of Obama's presidency was that there goal was to stop him from doing anything beneficial to Americans so they could get back into power. Republicans are nothing but Party before Country.

Good anonymous said "and then as has been in the news of late, Congressmen running out of their own town hall meetings because their constituents were telling them their views"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "when liberals hire and organize professional agitators, it is wise not to engage them"

Republicans keep alleging that but there's never any proof. The fact of the matter is that these are grassroots protests against Republican policies, no one is being paid to protest.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "kind of like I do with the foreign agitator who posts so much here".

Wyatt keeps claiming he's going to ignore my posts but they keep getting under his skin.

Hahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahaha!

Good anonymous said "The orange asshole has changed Spicer's script from Flynn was fired for lying about phone calls with Russians to claim Flynn was treated ‘very unfairly' by the press then ducking questions on Russia."

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "kind of contradictory, huh? no matter, the whole thing is not that important".

Yes, Trump did contradict himself, first claiming Flyn was fired for lying and then later admitting he only fired Flynn because of the press coverage. If Flynn's misdeeds hadn't become public he'd still be in his job and sitting in on sensitive national security meetings. It is a very big deal if the Trump campaign asked for Russian assistance in defeating Hillary in exchange for removing sanctions from Russia. That's would be a massive crime and scandal far bigger than Watergate. We simply do not know the scale of the Trump administration's corruption at this point and its telling that the FBI and NSA are investigating several of Trump's campaign and administration staff.

Good anonymous said "Trump is back in Florida for another rally this weekend He thinks those big bad courts blocked his Muslim ban and the evil enemy press cost him his advisor Flynn"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "he didn't ban Muslims there are numerous Muslim countries whose citizens aren't banned the temporary ban is only on countries that Baracky Obama classified as terrorist havens".

He banned Muslims from those countries. This is proven by the fact that he made exceptions for Jews and Chrisitans from those countries, the only people banned are Muslims. Obama didn't "classify as terrorist havens" those countries, he listed them as areas of possible concern. Suspiciously, no terrorists who've attacked the U.S. have come from those countries, all the terrorists were from other countries Trump didn't ban, "coincidentally" countries where Trump has substantial business interests. The conflict of interest here is mighty deep.

Good anonymous said "So he decided he'll return to what he did so successfully before, campaigning. But the campaign is over"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "he sees the source of his power as his constituents, as it should be rallies are a good way to demonstrate that to Congress its actually a preferable method of suasion compared to the usual tactic of buying them off with wasteful pork, at the expense of taxpayers".

Trump does rallies because he's incredibly childish and insecure. He sees his approval numbers being hammered from all the corruption and missteps in his new administration so he wants to hide from reality by insulating himself from the vast majority of Americans who disapprove of him and surrounding himself with a trivial minority of Americans who approve of him and will cheer him on. Pretending a trivial minority of Americans is how the public feels about him is a dishonest way to influence Congress, its a preferable method for lying Trump, but its bad for the American people as a whole. And of course research shows its Republicans far more than Democrats who buy off congress with wasteful pork at the expense of taxpayers.

Good anonymous said "After a few weeks of having to do the job of President, the tiny handed pussy grabber is going to go to a party instead of going to work."

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "haha, well you seem to have done a lot of complaining that he's doing too much you might want to be consistent, it makes you look bad".

That was consistent, Trump pumped out a flurry of rushed and ill-conceived executive orders that have backfired on him and now that the chickens are coming home to roost he's running away to party and insulate himself from reality by surrounding himself with the tiny minority of a few thousand Americans who still love him.

Good anonymous said "The monthly anomaly of the global average surface temperature in January 2017"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "isn't it great? it's going to be 70 on Sunday and none of the consequences of the alarmists have come true the latest is that the California drought has ended".

If 300,000 people per year currently dying due to global warming and the planet on a trend that's going to destroy most life on earth is great, then yes, its "great". As you typically do, you point to an isolated localized improvement and dishonestly portray that as typical of what's going on around the globe. Sea levels are rising at an increasing rate and flooding around the world is displacing and killing huge numbers of people. Arguably the Syrian civil war which has killed and displaced millions upon millions of people was caused by a massive drought due to global warming. So, yeah, sure, global warming = party time you evil loser.

Good anonymous said "Majority of Americans believe Russia interfered with election: New NBC-WSJ poll"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "they're probably right so what? they have always tried to do that we have done the same in other countries there's no reason to believe their attempt had any significant effect Comey's actions may have but she probably would have lost anyway".

The difference is this time, unlike in the past, they succeeded in their espionage and did interefere in the election. Trump lost the popular vote by more than any president ever to "win" the election, he just barely squeaked in, there's certainly good reason to believe if it weren't for the Russian interference the outcome would have been different. So we have a foreign government deciding who the U.S. president is - that should gravely concern every American. Pretending this doesn't matter only encourages greater efforts by Russia to do the same in the future. A strong response is needed to show that the States won't roll over whenever Russia wants to interfere in its domestic affairs. The U.S. needs to show countries that mean it harm that there will be consequences for espionage aimed at disrupting its democracy - Trump won't do that, he's happy to be Putin's puppet.

Only in the most delusional of minds would Hillary have "probably lost anyway". Trump barely squeaked in, he lost the popular vote by almost 3 million, if there had been only marginally less corruption in the election Hillary would have won.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "truth is, pro-family forces were awakened by the threat of Hillary appointing a SCOTUS justice".

Nonsense. First, the pro-family forces wanted Hillary to appoint a justice and prevent bans on gay marriage and overturning Roe V Wade - the anti-marriage forces wanted Trump to do the appointing. Second, the vast majority of Americans can't name a single supreme court justice. Americans are ignorant low information voters. Trump barely squeaked in because "Oh, Hillary's emails, trust us there's something bad there but we just "haven't found it yet"". The American voting public didn't give a damn about and was unaware of the implications of who appointed the next supreme court judges.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "as Hillary said before the election, the leaked e-mails were already baked into the cake anyway".

With the Russians constant leaking of sometimes manufactured emails the constant drip, drip, drip of innuendo could easily have been the difference between winning and losing. And certainly Comey breaking Justice Department policy to discuss an investigation of what turned out to be nothing cost Hillary 2-4 percentage points in the polls and without Comey's action she'd have absolutely trounced Trump. So, yeah, by no means was the ongoing flood of reporting of innuendo about Hillary's emails "baked into the cake".

Good anonymous said "Donald Trump can continue to blame the media and dodge questions surrounding his president campaign’s relationship to Russia, but his administration soon may have no choice but to come clean as leaders in both parties demand a thorough investigation."

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "oh, they'll be one but it's hard to see what could come out that would be a problem Trump was planning to change the Russian relationship he campaigned on doing that and won".

LOL, where there's that much smoke, there's going to be fire. Its not hard to see at all how that could be a problem. If it turns out that Trump campaign staff asked for Russian assistance in winning the election in return for removing sanctions once in power this will be the biggest criminal event ever in U.S. politics. The FBI is investigating several Trump campaign and administration staff for wrongdoings related to Russia and it has been found that Trump staff had regular contact with Russian intelligence throughout the 2016 campaign. This is BIG!

The heat is getting to the pathetic pussy grabber. He's now claiming he can be "brutal" with Russia. Of course he'll never take any actual steps to stop Russia from undermining the U.S. and other western governments, its all just empty rhetoric.

Trump and much of his campaign and administration staff are in the pocket of the Russians. They can't be trusted to look out for American and Western interests, they're committed to rubber stamping the Russian agenda.

Why did the pussy grabbing president wait so long to fire Mike Flynn after the Justice Department told him Flynn was lying about his contacts with the Russians and the Russians could therefore be blackmailing him?!?

This is a perfectly reasonable question and it hasn't been explained well enough yet.

There are multiple sources that report Flynn had repeated contacts with the Russian government during the campaign.

And its not just him. Multiple sources report it was several people from the Trump campaign who had repeated contact, constant communication with Russia including with Russian intelligence officials during the campaign while Russian intelligence was interfering with the American election to try to help get Trump elected.

Intelligence sources report these contacts are concrete and verifiable things. There are call logs, there are intercepts, there are transcripts of them and officials at the top levels of this whitehouse up to and including the president himself never the less have been denying up and down that these things ever happened.

For example, Jan 11:

"Did anyone involved in the Trump campaign have any contact with Russians trying to meddle with the election?"

Kelly Anne Conway:

"Absolutely not and I discussed that with the president elect just last night. Those conversations never happened. I hear people saying it like its a fact on TV. That is not only just inaccurate and false but its dangerous."

Jan 15:"Did any advisor or anyone in the Trump campaign have any contact with the Russians who were trying to meddle in the election?"

Mike Pence:

"Of course not and I think to suggest that is to give credence to some of these bizarre rumours that have swirled around the candidacy"

Feb 14:

"Back in January the president said nobody in his campaign had been in touch with the Russians. Now, today, can you still say definitively that nobody on the Trump campaign, not even general Flynn had any contact with the Russians before the election?"

Spicer:

"I don't have any... I...there's nothing that would conclude me anything different has changed with respect to that time period".

The president, vice president, top whitehouse officials have all just flat out denied that there were any contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

Those denials were all lies. There were contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence during the Trump campaign.

If this was normal business as usual and nothing nefarious was going on why did the all lie about that????

There are FBI, CIA, and U.S. army investigations into Flynn. In addition the Senate Judiciary Committee requesting a full briefing from the FBI and the Justice Department on "the circumstances that led to the recent resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.".

This request is not just from the Democrats on the Judiciary Committe, Republican chairman of the comittee Charles Grassley also signed on to the request

Then again, its worth remembering that the head of the Justice Department from whom they're asking for this briefing is Jeff Sessions who of course was part of the Trump campaign while the Trump campaign was talking to Russia during the campaign. Sessions has said he has no intention of recusing himself from any Justice Department investigations of the Trump campaign even though he was a part of it at the time that is now being investigated.

Jeff Sessions was chairman of the National Security Advisory Committee along side General Flynn. He was a senior advisor in the Trump campaign, the first senator to endorse Trump's campaign and nominated him at the Republican Convntion in Cleveland.

Attorney General Sessions must recuse himself immediately. Any investigation headed, directed by, or influenced by the Attorney General will be jaundiced from the very start.

Obviously a senior official of the Trump campaign can't be in charge of an investigation into the Trump campaign whether or not that investigation is into something as sensitive as the Trump campaign's contacts with the Russian government while the Russian government was trying to influence the U.S. election.

U.S. intelligence officials have withheld sensitive intelligence from President Trump because they are concerned it could be leaked or compromised...In some of these cases of withheld information officials have decided not to show the president sources and methods that the intelligence agencies use to collect information".

They're not showing him that stuff because they're not sure he can be trusted with it.

Did you read that FOX news article or did you stick to your refusal to do imbibe from the FOX news trough?

Here's what you missed:

"...The Trump administration took steps Wednesday intended to help calm jittery insurance companies and make tax compliance with former President Obama’s health law less burdensome for some. The administration's actions signal a change in direction.

For consumers, the proposed rules mean tighter scrutiny of anyone trying to sign up for coverage outside of open enrollment by claiming a "special enrollment period" due to a change in life circumstances such as the birth of a child, marriage, or the loss of job-based insurance. Also, sign-up season will be 45 days, down from the current three months..."

Ooof, that'll show us stinkin' no-good purchasers of health insurance!

It's not exactly the "repeal and replace" your pussy grabber called for at all his campaign events, is it?

Intelligence agents are also aware the pussy grabber is astoundingly unaware of his own leaks like: "Days after handling national security crisis in a Mar-a-Lago dining area, Trump decries “illegal leaks.”"

There is a war being waged by the pussy grabber, who after the election accused the intelligence services of politicizing the report about Russian interference in the election to hurt him and now members of the intelligence agencies are pushing back by releasing information to news services about contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russians and witholding information from Trump.

Clearly the intelligence services are watching Trump and his advisors withhold information from the American public. They watched for almost three weeks as the Trump administration did not reveal to the American public what they knew which was that Flynn had suspicious conversations with the Russians. This is why the U.S. needs a credible investagatory process whether it be through the intelligence committee or an independent commision because in an ideal world these whistleblowers would be coming to the investigatory body rather than leaking only to the press.

This is why Trump's attacks on the press have been worrying - calling the American journalists fake news and elevating pro-trump blogs as if they're equivalent to the Washington Post or NBC news etc. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, NBC, and CNN, and all these other news outlets do very good work in terms of getting this information to the public. The question is whether or not this will continue to be just a journalistic enterprise or whether there will be any part of the U.S. government that gets to the bottom of this, that does the investigatory work and that ultimately brings prosecutions if this turns out to be a criminal matter.

Right now there is not a credible investigation in the United States Congress. You have investigations open in both Intelligence Committes but both Mitch Mcconnel and Paul Ryan have hamstrung them so they can't get to the bottom of this. Because Jeff Sessions at any moment could interfere with the FBI investigation, you can't trust that that investigation won't be compromised. Americans got used to Attorney General Lynch giving Comey free rein with respect to the Clinton email issue but there's nothing stopping Sessions from coming in and telling Comey what he can and cannot do. And then to the extent the CIA and Army have been looking into this those are agencies that Trump has a lot of control over as well. So, right now you don't have a credible non-partisan investigation that these individuals in the intelligence services that may have information can give it to and trust it is going to end up getting all the doors that need to unlocked unlocked.

This issue is moving by the hour. Republican Richard Burr who is head of the intelligence committee yesterday made it a little bit clearer that he was open to letting his investigation go wherever it led. Republican Lyndsay Graham, who has been on the front lines of this since the beginning, opened the door to supporting an independent investigation or special prosecutor. You're seeing more and more Republicans understand the gravity of this and they're probably looking at the scope of history, they're wondering what a year or two from now what it will look like if they stood in the way of this investigation happening. We don't know if Mitch Mcconnel will let this independent or non-partisan process play out but we are seeing some movement happening in that direction.

For months, Donald Trump rejected the idea that Russia intervened in the American presidential election. A month after his improbable victory, the Republican called the allegations “ridiculous.”

In time, however, even Trump couldn’t deny the evidence put together by the U.S. intelligence community, and a month after dismissing the controversy as absurd, the president was compelled to acknowledge reality. At a pre-inauguration press conference, a reporter asked Trump if he accepts the findings that show “Vladimir Putin ordered the hack of the DNC.”

Grudgingly, at long last, he replied, “As far as hacking, I think it was Russia.”

This morning, Trump has apparently gone back to his original posture. The president tweeted:

“The Democrats had to come up with a story as to why they lost the election, and so badly (306), so they made up a story - RUSSIA. Fake news!”

As part of the same series of messages, Trump also complained about “illegal leaking” and his belief that media “makes-up stories and ‘sources.’” The president added that “low-life leakers … will be caught!”

Let’s get a couple of things out of the way. First, Trump’s obsession with his underwhelming electoral-vote totals is becoming increasingly pitiful. The president seems to think he’s helping himself with this sad rhetoric, but he couldn’t be more wrong.

Second, the contradictions are starting to pile up. If we’re talking about stories that the media “made up,” then there are no leakers to catch. He’s really going to have to get this story straight: are the recent reports the result of leaked information or are they fake news? They can’t be both, so Trump is going to have to pick one and go with it.

But even putting that aside, is the president seriously prepared to go backwards and argue that Russia didn’t launch an espionage operation to intervene in the election? After he already said he believes Russia stole Democratic materials?

When historically pro-Republican intelligence services don't trust a Republican president there is something seriously wrong!

Wyatt/bad anonymous promised to ignore my posts until I apoligized for some imaginary wrongdoing. Just watch him start responding and give a lame excuse like "It wasn't a notarized promise"

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

We all know there is no promise, oath, pledge, affirmation, agreement, contract, or commitment, notarized or not, that Wyatt won't break - his word means nothing. After all this is a child whose motto is "there are many situations where its appropriate to lie".

they did keep methods from Trump, but they do that with all presidents

they'd tell if he wanted to know, but there's no reason

"Let’s get a couple of things out of the way. First, Trump’s obsession with his underwhelming electoral-vote totals is becoming increasingly pitiful. The president seems to think he’s helping himself with this sad rhetoric, but he couldn’t be more wrong"

I keep hearing Democrats mistakenly assert Hillary won the popular election

Gore has gone around for years saying the same

they're wrong and should be called on it

"Second, the contradictions are starting to pile up. If we’re talking about stories that the media “made up,” then there are no leakers to catch. He’s really going to have to get this story straight: are the recent reports the result of leaked information or are they fake news? They can’t be both, so Trump is going to have to pick one and go with it."

actually, both are happening

depends on the specific incident you're referring to

"But even putting that aside, is the president seriously prepared to go backwards and argue that Russia didn’t launch an espionage operation to intervene in the election? After he already said he believes Russia stole Democratic materials?"

saying they hacked emails is not the same as saying they intervened

few people think they had any effect, although they may have wanted to

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "the report turned out to be wrong they did keep methods from Trump, but they do that with all presidents they'd tell if he wanted to know, but there's no reason".

Wishful thinking on your part. Historically they haven't withheld anything from past presidents, with Trump they know they have to or it'll get back to Russian. They wouldn't tell Trump regardless of how he begged and pleaded. Its not just methods they keep from Trump, its any sensitive information that could compromise the country if it got back to the Russians.

Good anonymous said "Second, the contradictions are starting to pile up. If we’re talking about stories that the media “made up,” then there are no leakers to catch. He’s really going to have to get this story straight: are the recent reports the result of leaked information or are they fake news? They can’t be both, so Trump is going to have to pick one and go with it."

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "actually, both are happening depends on the specific incident you're referring to".

LOL! What colour of purple is the sky in your imaginary world? Trump refered to the intelligence showing Russia interfered with the election as both "fake news" and "unacceptable leaks" along with several other incidents. Trump keeps trying to have it both ways because he's not smart enough to keep his stories straight, he just goes with whatever comes immediately to mind, he's got a very short attention span. Just like he was informed on January 26th that Flynn had lied about talking about sanctions with the Russians and when asked about it around Feb 10th he claimed "I havn't heard this, I'll look into it." - Trump keeps trying to have it both ways.

Good anonymous said "But even putting that aside, is the president seriously prepared to go backwards and argue that Russia didn’t launch an espionage operation to intervene in the election? After he already said he believes Russia stole Democratic materials?"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "saying they hacked emails is not the same as saying they intervened few people think they had any effect, although they may have wanted to your word games are the equivalent of lies".

If they had hacked the emails and kept quiet about it you'd be correct. But they didn't and that's why you're the liar here. The Russians released the hacked information in such a way as to hurt Hillary and help Trump. In at least one email they doctored it to look like the unsavoury talk came from Hillary but a Time magazine reporter came forward and said he had written that. There's no doubt the Russian interference with the election had an effect. Trump just barely squeaked into the presidency. All honest people agree that if it weren't for the Russian hacking Hillary may well have won the election.

"I own nothing in Russia, I have no loans in Russia, I don't have any deals in Russia". "I have nothing to do with Russia, I told you. I have no deals there, I have no anything...I have nothing to do with Russia, to the best of my knowledge no person that I deal with does"

Donald Trump Jr. statement 2013:

"Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets...we see a lot of money pouring in from Russia"

Trump's last line that "no person that I deal with" has anything to do with Russia is a particularly blatant lie. Trump is well aware that Flynn went to Russia in 2015 as a guest of Putin to celebrate the anniversary of the TV station RT which is the propaganda arm of the Russian government. Flynn gave standing ovations to RT and Putin. Trump also has been informed (as if he didn't know already, lol) that several of his campaign and administration staff have had repeated contacts with Russian intelligence during the time Russia was working to interfere in the U.S. democratic process.

If that's the case then why did Flynn feel it was necessary to lie to Pence and say he didn't talk about sanctions on the call? If that's the case then when Trump was informed Flynn had lied about that why didn't Trump tell Pence he had talked sanctions before Pence went on the Sunday morning shows to say it never came up? If that's the case then why didn't Trump set the record straight after Pence falsely claimed Flynn hadn't discussed sanctions?

Spicer claimed Trump fired Flynn because Flynn lied. If so why was that no problem for almost three weeks until that information became public and then hours later Trump fired him? Trump later claimed it was the media's fault he had to fire Flynn, basically admitting that Flynn wasn't fired for lying but was rather fired because the information became public.

If it hadn't been made public that Flynn lied he'd still be in his job attending sensitive national security meetings despite the fact that he could be blackmailed by the Russians and is obviously sympathetic to Putin's authoritarian agenda to undermine the influence of the States and western democracies.

Flynn wasn't doing his job in talking to the Russian ambassador about sanctions, he was doing Susan Rice's job. Flynn was talking to the Russian ambassador about lifting sanctions, this is the president's incoming National Security Advisor after it was well established that Russia influenced the election to help Donald Trump, to tell Russia "We're going to let you off the hook.".

That is an extraordinary development, that's what the press and everyone else should be focused on.

During the Q&A session of the address, which was Trump's first solo press conference since taking office, April Ryan, the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, asked the president if he planned to include the Congressional Black Caucus in discussions about his inner-city agenda.

"I would," he responded. "I'll tell you what, do you want to set up the meeting? Are they friends of yours?"

"No no no no, I'm just a reporter," replied a taken-a-back Ryan.

Many people have taken to social media to express their anger over Trump's response to Ryan, saying that he treated her like a "secretary" and claiming he acted as if "all black people know each other."

The CBC issued a response to Trump on Twitter following the conference, saying that they had, in fact, tried to set up a meeting with the president -- an invitation to which they claim they received no response.

The CBC ✔@OfficialCBCHi, @realDonaldTrump. We’re the CBC. We sent you a letter on January 19, but you never wrote us back. Sad! Letter: http://bit.ly/2kD6FhQ2:51 PM - 16 Feb 2017

Judd Legum tweets:1. Here is a chain of events that I'm sure is just a COMPLETE coincidence2. Since 2006, Trump has sought to trademark his brand in China. It wasn't going well. He kept losing in court.3. After winning the presidency, Trump caused a stir by rejecting the "One China" policy, angering the Chinese gov't4. Then, late last week, Trump abruptly reversed course. Said he was committed to one China5. Yesterday, IN A COMPLETE COINCIDENCE, China reversed course and awarded Trump a trademark6. This fits squarely into the definition of an emolument. Trump is getting something of value from a foreign gov't7. He couldn't get it when he wasn't president but he can get it now.8. Kind of amazing that, amid all the chaos, this story -- which should be a major scandal -- barely gets notice

"During the Q&A session of the address, which was Trump's first solo press conference since taking office, April Ryan, the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, asked the president if he planned to include the Congressional Black Caucus in discussions about his inner-city agenda.

"I would," he responded. "I'll tell you what, do you want to set up the meeting? Are they friends of yours?"

"No no no no, I'm just a reporter," replied a taken-a-back Ryan.

Many people have taken to social media to express their anger over Trump's response to Ryan, saying that he treated her like a "secretary""

what a bunch of jackasses!

so, being asked to set up a meeting when you're complaining about it not happening is a sign of disrespect?

if he treated her like a secretary, that would be a step up from the slimy world of 21st century journalism

Trump today did the same thing for Presidential press conferences that he did last year for Presidential debates:

he made them must-watch TV

making press conferences great again

all America, other than the coastal crowd was cheering

this is how Trump won an over-whelming victory that swept across the land, carrying the majority of states

"and claiming he acted as if "all black people know each other.""

did you watch it?

she said she did know the members of the CBC

is it a problem to think all the black reporters who work for liberal biased media outlets know all the liberal black congressmen?

or is that better left unsaid?

"The CBC issued a response to Trump on Twitter following the conference, saying that they had, in fact, tried to set up a meeting with the president -- an invitation to which they claim they received no response.

The CBC ✔@OfficialCBCHi, @realDonaldTrump. We’re the CBC. We sent you a letter on January 19, but you never wrote us back. Sad!"

oh, please

you think Trump would pass up an opportunity to get that kind of attention?

they're lying

Chuck Schumer is pulling their strings

"1. Here is a chain of events that I'm sure is just a COMPLETE coincidence2. Since 2006, Trump has sought to trademark his brand in China. It wasn't going well. He kept losing in court.3. After winning the presidency, Trump caused a stir by rejecting the "One China" policy, angering the Chinese gov't4. Then, late last week, Trump abruptly reversed course. Said he was committed to one China5. Yesterday, IN A COMPLETE COINCIDENCE, China reversed course and awarded Trump a trademark6. This fits squarely into the definition of an emolument. Trump is getting something of value from a foreign gov't7. He couldn't get it when he wasn't president but he can get it now."

Presidential families have for decades been guaranteed round-the-clock protection, no matter the expense or destination. Every presidency has brought new operational challenges and lifestyle habits, from George W. Bush’s frequent stays at his remote ranch in Texas to Obama’s annual trips to Martha’s Vineyard and his native state of Hawaii. Judicial Watch estimated that Obama-related travel expenses totaled nearly $97 million over eight years.

But based on the first four weeks, Trump’s presidency appears on track to cost hundreds of millions of dollars more.'

"Ocean models predict a decline in the dissolved oxygen inventory of the global ocean of one to seven per cent by the year 2100, caused by a combination of a warming-induced decline in oxygen solubility and reduced ventilation of the deep ocean1,2. It is thought that such a decline in the oceanic oxygen content could affect ocean nutrient cycles and the marine habitat, with potentially detrimental consequences for fisheries and coastal economies3–6..."

Here's yet another climate study you can try to turn to fake news but dissolved oxygen in oceans is measurable empirical data so have fun with your spin attempts.

"TRUMP: ...We got 306 because people came out and voted like they've never seen before so that's the way it goes. I guess it was the biggest electoral college win since Ronald Reagan. In other words, the media's trying to attack our administration because they know we are following through on pledges that we made and they're not happy about it for whatever reason....

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) said today that you have big intellectual margins (inaudible) 300 or more (ph), or 350 (ph) electoral (ph) votes. President Obama about 365 (OFF-MIKE).

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Yeah.

QUESTION: Obama (OFF-MIKE) 426 on (OFF-MIKE). So why should Americans...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: ...I'm skipping that information, I don't know, I was just given (ph) we had a very, very big margin.

TRUMP: Well, I don't know, I was given that information. I was given -- I actually, I've seen that information around...."

It is costly to America when Americans along with the rest of the world can see how easily, often and recklessly the pussy grabber you right wingers elected to be President lies through his teeth and then bitches he was "given" the information.

He believed it and he said it at a press conference without having bothered to find out if it was true or not.

"I will be sure to remind you of your statement about Pruitt keeping us warm in August"

depends how hot it is

if its cool or normal, you'll be saying "well, you can't tell anything by one year in one place...yada yada moron yada"

but, chances are it will warm some place in August

same as it ever was

"As of 02/16/17 Gallup shows the guy who has horrified liberals by destroying all their hopes and leaving them with no influence or power or prospects at a better future at a 38% approval rating and a 56% disapproval rating in their first daily three day rolling poll post-Flynn"

funny that this has always been true and he still won primary after primary after general election

A growing roster of Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill believe President Trump’s pugnacious rhetoric and unpredictable behavior threaten to diminish the United States’ standing around the world, do real damage to fragile diplomatic relationships and even weaken global stability.

Lawmakers are speaking in increasingly urgent tones about Trump’s unusual foreign policy statements and his tendency to pick fights with domestic and international figures. They say it has taken a toll on the way key allies, foes and other foreign observers view the United States. Even members of Trump’s own party are having difficulties vouching for him.

“A country’s more than one person,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), when asked whether he is concerned that the president’s words have harmed the U.S. image. The senator, who dined with Trump on Wednesday but has also criticized his posture toward Russia, added: “There’s more than one voice in America.”

In a striking speech to international defense officials gathered Friday in Germany, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) suggested that the survival of the western world is at risk from some of the ideas Trump has embraced.

“The next panel asks us to consider whether the West will survive. In recent years, this question would invite accusations of hyperbole and alarmism. Not this year,” McCain said, according to prepared remarks delivered Friday at the Munich Security Conference. “If ever there were a time to treat this question with a deadly seriousness, it is now.”

McCain did not mention Trump by name. But it was clear that he was lamenting the policies and practices of the Trump administration — and their threat to global stability. He imagined how disturbed the security conference’s founders would be. The organization was formed 50 years ago, at the height of the Cold War, to bring world powers together to discuss and further global stability...."

It’s with a whiff of desperation that President Trump insists these days that he’s the chief executive Washington needs, the decisive dealmaker who, as he said during the campaign, “alone can fix it.” What America has seen so far is an inept White House led by a celebrity apprentice.

This president did not inherit “a mess” from Barack Obama, as he likes to say, but a nation recovered from recession and with strong alliances abroad. Mr. Trump is well on his way to creating a mess of his own, weakening national security and even risking the delivery of basic government services. Most of the top thousand jobs in the administration remain vacant. Career public servants are clashing with inexperienced “beachhead” teams appointed by the White House to run federal agencies until permanent staff members arrive.

The most damaging downside to the administration’s stumbles could be an exodus of talent from the broader government; scientists, lawyers and policy specialists at the Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, are openly disheartened at the prospect of working for Scott Pruitt, whose nomination as the agency’s new boss was approved by the Senate on Friday.

And if others follow Mr. Harward’s lead, capable people may be reluctant to come on board and fix things. That would leave the White House further isolated, particularly on foreign policy. Indeed, unless Mr. Trump can bring some semblance of order to his official household and governing style, the only element of his famous campaign pledge that may prove accurate is the “alone” part.

Yes, I did, and then I went to explain why I thought so in response to your inquiry, even though you expected no response as follows:

""To me it's lying and it's very costly"

really? explain how saying he won by more electoral votes than he actually did will be costly

thinking we'll hear a lot of crickets chirping"

Then I pointed out "Lawmakers say Trump’s words matter — and hurt the country’s standing abroad," which also alluded to his dishonesty as follows:

"Even members of Trump’s own party are having difficulties vouching for him."

Try to keep up.

"you said Trump exaggerating the size of his victory was costly

that's just wrong"

No it isn't wrong.

Exaggerating the size of his victory over and over again ad nauseum is but *one* of his many, daily, hourly without cease lies that even members of Trump's own party and even member of his own administration "are having difficulties vouching for him."

Good, they should not even try to vouch for his lies.

For example, Spicer changed his tune about the crowd sizes from "Photographs of the inaugural proceedings were intentionally framed in a way...to minimize the enormous support that had gathered on the National Mall, Spicer said. [and]....insisted that the inauguration crowd was "the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration—period, both in person and around the globe" to basically lies are just as good as facts: "Sean Spicer, was unapologetic on Monday for making false assertions about the size of the crowd at his inauguration, declaring: “Sometimes we can disagree with the facts.”"

All sorts of people agree this administration tells a lot of lies, like that one Spicer told over and over, even you claim to.

" we must remember that Trump was clear in his view during the election and he was elected"

He was clear as mud, but he won the election with the help of James Comey, Russian hackers, Wikileaks and the "micro-targeting" Obama used the orange asshole had claimed was "overrated."

And after not quite a full month in office, he has the lowest approval rating of any President since Gallup started tracking such things.

"and I disagree generally with his tone"

If you disagree with his tone, why do you use exactly the same tone he does to bully people who disagree with you?

Bullying does not win arguments, it tends to end discussion.

Bullying may be "meaningless" to big bad bullies like you and the Orange Asshole but I assure you bullying is not meaningless to witnesses and victims of it.

============

A large non-weeping forsythia bush in my neighbor's yard burst open in full bloom on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017.

The fact is, it's beautiful to see spring flowers blooming but that's pretty early for forsythia to bloom around here even when compared to the formerly warmest year, 1998.

no one in the international community is saying "oh, he exaggerated his count in the electoral college so we can't believe what he says",

indeed, diplomacy is largely the art of the misleading statement

the whole game is to find out what the other fellow really means

"which also alluded to his dishonesty as follows:

"Even members of Trump’s own party are having difficulties vouching for him.""

a vague, imprecise, and meaningless statement

it's simply part of the echo chamber the Dems are using to rationalize their incompetence at politics, that has resulted in a complete loss of power and influence at every level

"Try to keep up."

a statement nasty throws into the mix whenever she's floundering

"No it isn't wrong"

well, you still haven't concocted a reasonable explanation how

"Exaggerating the size of his victory over and over again ad nauseum is but *one* of his many, daily, hourly without cease lies that even members of Trump's own party and even member of his own administration "are having difficulties vouching for him."

how about when Obama put out false economic numbers every quarter and then revised them later in the year?

how about TTFers claiming Hillary won the popular vote, when we held no such vote?

how about the press calling a temporary ban on immigrants from seven countries that Obama deemed terrorist havens a Muslim ban, when Muslims from countries from every other country are free to come here?

how about when Obama claimed the Benghazi attacks were the street reaction to a Danish cartoon?

"For example, Spicer changed his tune about the crowd sizes from "Photographs of the inaugural proceedings were intentionally framed in a way...to minimize the enormous support that had gathered on the National Mall, Spicer said."

the NY Times photos? intentionally misleading

I watched the inauguration live

from Trump's POV, where the camera was, the mall didn't look to have gaps

the NY Times obviously used a photo showing gaps from some other point in the day

"All sorts of people agree this administration tells a lot of lies, like that one Spicer told over and over, even you claim to."

I think all politicians lie

Hillary, Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi...deceit is their calling

the current ruckus over Russia is basically a lie

we are not at war with Russia,

there is no evidence they were able to influence our election

"He was clear as mud, but he won the election with the help of James Comey, Russian hackers, Wikileaks and the "micro-targeting" Obama"

there you go, lying again

he stated his position on relations with Russia clearly

for good or bad, he has kept his word

"If you disagree with his tone, why do you use exactly the same tone he does to bully people who disagree with you?"

"how about when Obama put out false economic numbers every quarter and then revised them later in the year?"

If you had been paying attention, you might have noticed that happens in every administration. Many economic numbers get revised once the get all the information in from all the sources. The first ones out are preliminary estimates. It has been happening like this for decades. Wake up dude.

"how about TTFers claiming Hillary won the popular vote, when we held no such vote?"

You keep harping on this point as if it has some relevance. It simply does not. Let me explain it to you in short, simple sentences:

1: Each state has a POPULAR VOTE for the president.

2: Each state also has a number of electoral college delegates assigned to it.

3: Each state also has way of mapping the POPULAR VOTES to their electoral delegates. In most states, it's "winner take all;" in a few states, they are divided proportionally.

4: It was the POPULAR VOTE in each state that determined how many electoral college votes each candidate received.

5: The electoral college "vote" was determined by the outcome of the POPULAR VOTE in each state. Although a few electoral college voters may have deviated from their assigned "vote," (several said they would) it did not impact the finally tally of electoral college "votes."

"how about the press calling a temporary ban on immigrants from seven countries that Obama deemed terrorist havens a Muslim ban, when Muslims from countries from every other country are free to come here?"

Funny how that ban, which was against Muslims in everything but name, didn't affect countries where Trump had business interests, like Saudi Arabia, where many terrorists have actually come from.

"how about when Obama claimed the Benghazi attacks were the street reaction to a Danish cartoon?"

Military Strategy 101: Don't let the enemy know how much intel you have on them. Send them false information so they become complacent and make them easier for you to find.

"If you had been paying attention, you might have noticed that happens in every administration. Many economic numbers get revised once the get all the information in from all the sources. The first ones out are preliminary estimates. It has been happening like this for decades. Wake up dude."

the adjustments in Obama's term were extraordinary and unfailingly made him look good at first

but, obviously, you know that

"You keep harping on this point"

actually, to this point, I've only brought it up when you guys make this false claim

"as if it has some relevance. It simply does not. Let me explain it to you in short, simple sentences:

1: Each state has a POPULAR VOTE for the president."

yes, they do

and Trump won more of them than Hillary

but, we didn't have a national popular vote

if we had, Trump may have won

the rules of an election affect who decides to participate

this had significant relevance this time in California

it wasn't close so anyone who favored Trump didn't feel their vote would count and there was no Republican Senate candidate

we didn't have a national popular vote so Hillary didn't win it

we did have popular votes in each state but Trump won most of them

"Funny how that ban, which was against Muslims in everything but name, didn't affect countries where Trump had business interests, like Saudi Arabia, where many terrorists have actually come from."

that's hysterical

I notice you're not denying that the media and Dems calling it a "Muslim ban" are lying

Funny you mention Saudi. They don't have anyone other than Muslims since infidels are subject to death under the Koran if they are present in the holy land.

other than Saudi, how about Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, India, Jordan, Kuwait - tons of Muslims, not subject to a ban

the whole "Muslim Ban" is a flat-out lie by Dems, you know the ones in Congress that are so disturbed that Trump exaggerates crowd sizes, and the media, you know the ones running stories abut what a liar Trump is

"Military Strategy 101: Don't let the enemy know how much intel you have on them. Send them false information so they become complacent and make them easier for you to find.

It should have been obvious."

oh, I see. When Obama lies he's being shrewd. Was there another lie he could have told other than one that caused riots and death throughout the Muslim world?

You were elected as chief executive of the United States. I won’t belabor the fact that you won with a minority of the popular vote and a little help from your friends, FBI Director James Comey and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The bottom line is, you were elected.

And this does entitle you to certain things. You get your own airplane. You get free public housing. You get greeted with snappy salutes. And a band plays when you walk into the room.

But there is one thing to which your election does not entitle you. It does not entitle you to do whatever pops into your furry orange head without being called on it or, should it run afoul of the Constitution, without being blocked.

You and other members of the Fourth Reich seem to be having difficulty understanding this. Reports from Politico and elsewhere describe you as shocked that judges and lawmakers can delay or even stop you from doing things. Three weeks ago, your chief strategist, Steve Bannon, infamously declared that news media should “keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while.”

Just last Sunday, senior policy adviser Stephen Miller declared on CBS’ “Face The Nation” that “our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned.”

What you do “will not be questioned?” Lord, have mercy. That’s the kind of statement that, in another time and place, would have been greeted with an out-thrust palm and a hearty “Sieg heil!” Here in this time and place, however, it demands a different response:

Just who the hell do you think you are?

Meaning you and all the other trolls you have brought clambering up from under their bridges. Maybe you didn’t notice, but this is the United States of America. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? Nation of laws, not of individuals? First Amendment? Freedom of the press? Any of that ringing a bell?

Let’s be brutally clear here. If you were a smart guy with unimpeachable integrity and a good heart who was enacting wise policies for the betterment of all humankind, you’d still be subject to sharp scrutiny from news media, oversight from Congress, restraint by the judiciary — and public opinion.

And you, of course, are none of those things. I know you fetishize strength. I know your pal Vladimir would never stand still for reporters and judges yapping at him.

I know, too, that you’re accustomed to being emperor of your own fiefdom. Must be nice. Your name on the wall, the paychecks, the side of the building. You tell people to make something happen, and it does. You yell at a problem, and it goes away. Nobody talks back. I can see how it would be hard to give that up.

But you did. You see, you’re no longer an emperor, Mr. So-Called President. You’re now what is called a “public servant” — in effect, an employee with 324 million bosses. And let me tell you something about those bosses. They’re unruly and loud, long accustomed to speaking their minds without fear or fetter. And they believe power must always answer to the people. That’s at the core of their identity.

Yet you and your coterie of cartoon autocrats think you’re going to cow them into silence and compliance by ordering them to shut up and obey? Well, as a freeborn American, I can answer that in two syllables flat.

Problem with above: most of the 324 million are happy with the guy they hired.

Donald Trump was elected president last November by winning 306 electoral votes. He pledged to "drain the swamp" in Washington, D.C., to overturn the system of politics that had left the nation's capital and major financial and tech centers flourishing but large swaths of the country mired in stagnation and decay. "What truly matters," he said in his Inaugural Address, "is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people."

Is it? By any historical and constitutional standard, "the people" elected Donald Trump and endorsed his program of nation-state populist reform. Yet over the last few weeks America has been in the throes of an unprecedented revolt. Not of the people against the government—that happened last year—but of the government against the people. What this says about the state of American democracy, and what it portends for the future, is incredibly disturbing.

There is, of course, the case of Michael Flynn. He made a lot of enemies inside the government during his career, suffice it to say. And when he exposed himself as vulnerable those enemies pounced. But consider the means: anonymous and possibly illegal leaks of private conversations. Yes, the conversation in question was with a foreign national. And no one doubts we spy on ambassadors. But we aren't supposed to spy on Americans without probable cause. And we most certainly are not supposed to disclose the results of our spying in the pages of the Washington Post because it suits a partisan or personal agenda.

Here was a case of current and former national security officials using their position, their sources, and their methods to crush a political enemy. And no one but supporters of the president seems to be disturbed. Why? Because we are meant to believe that the mysterious, elusive, nefarious, and to date unproven connection between Donald Trump and the Kremlin is more important than the norms of intelligence and the decisions of the voters.

But why should we believe that? And who elected these officials to make this judgment for us?

Nor is Flynn the only example of nameless bureaucrats working to undermine and ultimately overturn the results of last year's election. According to the New York Times, civil servants at the EPA are lobbying Congress to reject Donald Trump's nominee to run the agency. Is it because Scott Pruitt lacks qualifications? No. Is it because he is ethically compromised? Sorry. The reason for the opposition is that Pruitt is a critic of the way the EPA was run during the presidency of Barack Obama. He has a policy difference with the men and women who are soon to be his employees. Up until, oh, this month, the normal course of action was for civil servants to follow the direction of the political appointees who serve as proxies for the elected president.

How quaint. These days an architect of the overreaching and antidemocratic Waters of the U.S. regulation worries that her work will be overturned so she undertakes extraordinary means to defeat her potential boss. But a change in policy is a risk of democratic politics. Nowhere does it say in the Constitution that the decisions of government employees are to be unquestioned and preserved forever. Yet that is precisely the implication of this unprecedented protest. "I can't think of any other time when people in the bureaucracy have done this," a professor of government tells the paper. That sentence does not leave me feeling reassured.

Opposition to this president takes many forms. Senate Democrats have slowed confirmations to the most sluggish pace since George Washington. Much of the New York and Beltway media does really function as a sort of opposition party, to the degree that reporters celebrated the sacking of Flynn as a partisan victory for journalism. Discontent manifests itself in direct actions such as the Women's March.

But here's the difference. Legislative roadblocks, adversarial journalists, and public marches are typical of a constitutional democracy. They are spelled out in our founding documents: the Senate and its rules, and the rights to speech, a free press, and assembly. Where in those documents is it written that regulators have the right not to be questioned, opposed, overturned, or indeed fired, that intelligence analysts can just call up David Ignatius and spill the beans whenever they feel like it?

The last few weeks have confirmed that there are two systems of government in the United States. The first is the system of government outlined in the U.S. Constitution—its checks, its balances, its dispersion of power, its protection of individual rights. Donald Trump was elected to serve four years as the chief executive of this system. Whether you like it or not.

The second system is comprised of those elements not expressly addressed by the Founders. This is the permanent government, the so-called administrative state of bureaucracies, agencies, quasi-public organizations, and regulatory bodies and commissions, of rule-writers and the byzantine network of administrative law courts. This is the government of unelected judges with lifetime appointments who, far from comprising the "least dangerous branch," now presume to think they know more about America's national security interests than the man elected as commander in chief.

For some time, especially during Democratic presidencies, the second system of government was able to live with the first one. But that time has ended. The two systems are now in competition. And the contest is all the more vicious and frightening because more than offices are at stake. This fight is not about policy. It is about wealth, status, the privileges of an exclusive class

Indeed they do. That's why a lot of Democrats stayed home. The electoral college projections showed Hillary winning for months. It didn't look like Orange Assholio even had a chance. So they stayed home election night, ate some pizza, and woke up with a mango hangover. Previous electoral college projections - such as those for both of Obama's wins had been pretty accurate - much to the chagrin of certain Fox news guests one November evening in 2008. That was funny.

"but, we didn't have a national popular vote"

Yeah, we all know that. Even Trump claims he won the "popular vote" though - as long as you discount those 3 million illegals that voted for Hillary. What a sore winner. Sad.

"Funny you mention Saudi. They don't have anyone other than Muslims since infidels are subject to death under the Koran if they are present in the holy land."

Um, you might want to check into some facts. My step-father worked over there for several years back in the early '80s. He was a Catholic. He came back quite alive. They paid him very well.

"the whole "Muslim Ban" is a flat-out lie by Dems"

Dems remember Grump's campaign promise:

"Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on," a campaign press release said.

It wasn't a "complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States," but for a first try during his first few weeks in office, it came pretty close to doing exactly what he said he was going to do to Muslims. Presidents don't always get what they want though.

Glad to see your wild creativity in just pulling stuff out of your colon hasn't abated. You should paint or something with that #$%^.

Here's a clue for you. When I concede something, I'll preface it with something obvious, like "I concede..."

"civil servants are part of the executive branch and Trump is their boss

because he was elected by the people

and there were selected to serve the person the people elected

under the Constitution, they are to do nothing other than what the President tells them to do

they aren't a check on him"

OH HELL NO. (With a big finger snap)

I'm sure for Christian Dominionists like yourself, you're perfectly fine dictatorial autocrats - as long as the president isn't a Democrat - especially one named OBAMA. I bet you just can't wait to get the right "Christian" in the White House and rewrite all the rules to favor Christians. History has shown though that mixing politics and religion only make both of them much, much worse.

It's the right of EVERY American -especially ones in civil or military service - to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

Some even consider it a DUTY to uphold that Constitution. I argue that unless citizens keep fighting for Constitutional values, politicians will take them away in the interests of their own expediency.

Some folks are happy to be sofa spuds and watch fake news on TV.

But while couch potatoes have been distracted by political games, corporations have bought off our congress and White House. Congress now votes the way corporations want, and not the way the people want.

If we want to make America great again, it is everyday citizens that are going to have to get it back election by election, and district by district. It may well be a long hard slog, but I know a lot of women with pink hats ready and willing to do the work.

Hey anon, I'm not disagreeing with you. The American people wanted a dictator, so they elected one. And now he has to work within the laws of the country, and so far he is a miserable failure, because a constitutional democracy prevents dictatorship.

He is tweeting and lying and the people who voted for him may be buying it, but the government is not supporting him and his ratings are lower than ever. But the sheep who want a ruler are happy.

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” to be aired Sunday, McCain took a swipe at President Donald Trump’s volleys against the Fourth Estate, particularly a Friday tweet in which the press was called the “enemy of the American people.”

“If you want to preserve ― I’m very serious now ― if you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press,” he added.

McCain said that without a free press, “we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time.”

“That’s how dictators get started,” he added, noting that attacks on journalists questioning those in power are a tactic used by autocratic governments.

“When you look at history, the first thing that dictators do is shut down the press,” he said. “I’m not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator. I’m just saying we need to learn the lessons of history.”

“A fundamental part of that new world order was a free press,” he added. “I hate the press; I hate you especially,” McCain quipped. “But the fact is we need you.”

Trump has ratcheted up his assaults against media organizations in recent weeks, culminating in a belligerent press conference Thursday in which he excoriated the members of the press as “fake news.”

why is there no discussion about the gay who was invited to speak to conservatives and had to be disinvited when he said agent of consent lies forbidding adult males from having sex with under-age children is oppressive?

how widespread is this belief with others in gay community?

he also says transgender are mentally ill because they are boys who think they are girls

...President Trump gave an unusual response at a news conference Wednesday to a question about the rise in anti-Semitic incidents around the country. Rather than condemning them, Trump responded by talking about his electoral college victory, describing the question as unfair.

When asked again about the rise in anti-Semitic threats, during another news conference on Thursday, the president responded as if he was being personally accused. Trump said that the question was “very insulting” and that he was “the least anti-Semitic person that you’ve ever seen in your entire life.”

...Bomb threats were called in at Jewish community centers in 11 cities across the United States: Albuquerque, Amherst, Birmingham, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Milwaukee, Nashville, St. Paul, Tampa and Whitefish Bay, Wis. Since January, there have been 69 bomb threat calls targeting 54 centers in 27 different states, according to the Jewish Community Center Association.

What a pussy -- too afraid to mention the ACTS OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN AMERICA his election has stirred up thanks to him and his anti-Semite National Security Council appointee, Steve Bannon.

At 7:00AM: "why is there no discussion about the gay who was invited to speak to conservatives and had to be disinvited when he said agent (did you mean AGE?) of consent lies (did you mean LAWS?) forbidding adult males from having sex with under-age children is (ARE) oppressive?

Drinking a bit early today, are we?

I assume you mean Milo Yiannopoulos. You may recall left-wingers didn't want him to talk at Berkeley a while back. You guys complained is was an infringement on free speech.

Personally, I had never heard of this bloviating, right-wing, misogynistic ass-troll before the Berkeley protest - he's not in the stuff I normally read. But then, I don't read Breitbart, or many other conservative rags.

"how widespread is this belief with others in gay community?"

It's not. It's conservatives who like doing it without consent. Just ask that Duck Dynasty guy, the Duggar family, or Rush Limbaugh:

Rush Limbaugh dismissed the concept of sexual consent on Wednesday, and mocked what he called the “rape police.”

“You can do anything, the left will promote and understand and tolerate anything, as long as there is one element,” the conservative talk show host said in comments posted online by Media Matters. “Do you know what it is? Consent.”

He continued:

“If there is consent on both or all three or all four, however many are involved in the sex act, it’s perfectly fine, whatever it is. But if the left ever senses and smells that there’s no consent in part of the equation then here come the rape police. But consent is the magic key to the left.”

Limbaugh has railed against consent before, claiming it “takes all the romance out of everything.”

"he also says transgender are mentally ill because they are boys who think they are girls"

What do you expect? He's a right-wing tool. He is the right-wing's token "gay" that parrots everything they say. They like to hold him out as "proof" that their whole agenda isn't about being anti-gay, but just "conservative principles."

What Milo is too young and stupid to realize is that the "PC culture" he claims is "destroying America" is what allowed him to grow up safely enough as a gay boy that wasn't beaten into "acting like a heterosexual" submission - it kept conservatives off his back long enough that he could entertain "conservative" ideas.

He doesn't realize is that as soon as conservatives destroy enough "PC culture," they won't need him any more, and he'll be just as much of a target to get the #$%^ beat out of him as any other LGBT person.

"he took Bannon's old job at Breitbart"

I'm sure being a deplorable was a prerequisite for that post.

"curious, do you think Jews in Israel are stupid?"

Nope. But I'll let you in on a little secret. We think conservatives are stupid. Their religion is irrelevant.

"why hasn't TTF disavowed him?"

As I stated earlier, I didn't even know he existed until the Berkeley incident. He doesn't espouse any left-wing or TTF positions. I'm not aware that he ever said anything that the TTF would approve of.

He's a right-wing troll that happens to be gay. The right was proud to have him until those pesky child abusing quotes came up.

No, he's not right, you idiot. Underage activity is wrong precisely because a child or teenager can not fully understand what "consent" in sexual encounters really means. If someone doesn't fully grasp what consent is, or can't give it to you, you shouldn't be having sex with them. Period. It really isn't such a hard concept to grasp. Work on it for a bit. If you are as smart as you like to claim you are, you should be able to figure it out.

"transgender think they are something they're not"

I know what I am, and what I am not. You keep thinking you can read transgender minds. You have no effing clue what they think.

"I see ... you think thought control has its advantages and he should think and say what all the other gays do

got it"

What the right derides as "PC Culture" is nothing more than everyone treating everyone else in the same way as you would like to be treated - namely in a decent and respectable manner - regardless of one's religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or disability.

The right is chafing about this because they get called out for saying offensive things about entire groups of people. Somehow you consider being chastised for being openly obnoxious is "mind control."

Got it.

"how did these "stupid" people gain control of every lever of government"

Well, a lot of it is just sheer numbers. There are a LOT of stupid people around. It takes effort and education to be smart. That hasn't been in style for decades, especially on the right.

The Huffington Post has some more info on alt-right and Trump's rise though:

The researchers found that suicide attempts by high school students decreased by 7 percent in states after they passed laws to legalize same-sex marriage, before the Supreme Court legalized it nationwide in 2015. Among LGB high school students, the decrease was especially concentrated, with suicide attempts falling by 14 percent. But in states that did not legalize same-sex marriage, there was no change.

Clearly there are no good reasons for banning gay marriage and allowing gays to marry benefits not only LGBT people but society as a whole

Even with the FBI and Russia colluding to interfere in the election to favour Trump and Republican politicians wide spread suppression of minority voters (who typically vote Democrat) Trump still lost the popular vote! Imagine if there had been a fair election!

Cynthia said "Wyatt/bad anonymous has claimed transgender people are a danger to women and girls if they are allowed to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with."

Wyatt/bad anonymous "That's a lie, no one has ever said that transgender people will assault women and girls if they are allowed to use the women's bathroom...".

Of course it is Wyatt/bad anonymous who is lying. The anti-LGBT bigots have regularly claimed transpeople will assault women and girls if allowed to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with.

Just on Friday one of the biggest purveyor's of this lie was on Bill Maher. Milo Yiannopolous said transwomen whouldn't be allowed to use the women's bathroom because they are a danger to women and girls. He falsely claimed several times that statistics show transwomen are "vastly disproportionately" involved in sexual assaults.

Irronically the right wing darling who was loved for his anti-gay and anti-LGBT comments was found to have defended pedophilia - the bigot who tried to pretend trans-women were a threat to women and girls turns out to be a threat to children himself.

There are large numbers of anti-gay conservatives still defending Milo and attacking liberals calling for Milo to be fired from his job at Breitbart and for Simon and Schuster to cancel his book deal.

Milo was the hero of the right wing when he was attacking transpeople, gays, black people, and Jews. Only now for (some of) the right wing has he gone to far in defending pedophilia. They were fine with him attacking innocent people they didn't like but now they hypocritically decide this alone was going to far, that this alone makes him a bad person.

Milo was the key note speaker for the Conservative Political Action Conference back when he was only advocating harming LGBT people and other innocent minorities.

Never forget that Milo represents what so many conservatives stand for!

Standard Wyatt/bad anonymous dishonesty - the LGBT community has been disavowing Milo for years! He's never been accepted as a part of the gay community, any claims by him to be a part of it are a lie!

Its been right wing conservatives who've been defending him and supporting him. Trump himself said he was going to cut funding to Berkeley university because they wouldn't let Milo speak there and spread his hate mongering of minorities.

And now even the right wing/white supremacist web site that employ's Milo (hired by President Bannon!) is waffling over whether or not they're going to fire Milo!

This videos came out over a year ago and liberals were calling for Milo to be condemned and fired back then but conservatives who knew about them ignored them because as long as Milo was attacking the LGBT community and minorities they were happy to promote him and his hatred. At the time conservatives didn't care because it was liberals raising the alarm and in their minds anything liberals don't like is something they support. It wasn't until a conservative organization highlighted these videos (some!) conservatives decided they didn't like Milo!

Trump's hero is berating liberals for condemning pedophile Milo Yiannopolous. During the election Trump went on and on at rally after rally about how he loved Wikileaks and Assange (an accused rapist).

The Russian agent Assange is a hero to Republicans for helping the Russians elect Trump.

The pedophile Milo Yiannopolous has long been (and for many still is!) the darling of right wing Republican conservatives!

Pretty hypocritical of Wyatt/bad anonymous to complain about Yiannopolous but praise Trump who is accused of raping a thirteen year old girl, who talks about his lust for ten year old girls, and who walks in on naked teenage beauty contestants.

Like so many other conservatives since this has come up Wyatt/bad anonymous has no problem with pedophilia if its men having sex with little girls, only if its men having sex with teenage boys.

What do you expect from someone who has demanded that high school staff have the right to inspect the genitals of school children entering the bathroom?!

Steve Bannon, Trump's number one staff member and right hand man, was the head of Breitbart before he quit to serve Trump. Bannon hired Milo to work for Breitbart. Breitbart let Yiannopolous resign and didn't have the courage to fire him, they didn't want to look like they opposed the pedophile Milo!

Breitbart was willing to overlook Milo being a pedophile because they liked him attacking minorities and doing everything he could to make gays look bad!

"...The swastika was discovered Tuesday at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg by a visitor to the campus, said Sgt. Rebecca Innocenti of the Montgomery County Police Department. The symbol was written in pen on a tile, she said.

...The incident is the second at Quince Orchard since October, when a caustic substance was used on the football field to create the image of a swastika, according to Montgomery County police.

...On Oct. 30, swastikas were found spray-painted on sidewalks, a telephone pole and a school banner outside Burning Tree Elementary School in Bethesda.

...On Nov. 11, numerous images of a swastika were found inside the boys’ bathroom at Westland Middle School in Bethesda, in the second such incident at the school during a two-week period. Suspects have not been identified.

Ron Halber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, attributed the uptick in incidents to a bitter presidential campaign that empowered people with hateful views. “They’ve lost their shame,” he said."

I agree with Mr. Halber. The uptick in anti-semitic hate crimes in MCPS, four of them within 30 days, is a direct result of the pussy grabber's own hatefulness.

Let's see you come up with four different anti-semitic acts at four different MCPS schools all happening within 30 days of each other in and around MCPS schools prior to this election to prove me wrong.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "TTF needs to disavow Milo's endorsement of the normalization of homosexuality"

Milo was on your side Wyatt, he DID oppose gayness, including his own. He advocated for the useless attempts to turn gays into heterosexuals, he encouraged people to discriminate against gays, he opposed same sex marriage and monogamous gay relationships.

You have non-stop praise for Trump who's expressed interest in sex with female children. You only pretend to criticize Milo for supporting sex between men and teenage boys, you don't really care about that, Milo is just a tool to you to attempt to use to smear LGBT people.

Good anonymous asked "What do you "think" explains 69 anti-semitic acts of hate in the 30 days since the inauguration all of a sudden?"

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "I'd blame the caricature the media has drawn is there any doubt about that?".

Not only is there doubt, there's absolute proof that anti-semitic, anti-Islamic, and anti-gay, attacks have increased many times over since Trump began his campaign with "They're bring drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some I assume are good people (but he's not sure about that!). And its only gotten worse since he too office.

What do you expect from a man who in a speech about the holocaust mentions some groups but doesn't mention Jews?!

Contrary to the lies of bigots like Wyatt/bad anonymous the reason for the heightened suicide rate in the LGBT community has to do with the way we're treated, and not something inherent in being gay, bi or trans. Life is a hard thing to go at alone and when you take away support from family and then put barriers in place to forming a family via marriage it is that much harder to go on. For many the decrease in suicide rates has more to do with the perception that at least the highest court in the land accorded gays the dignity of equality in a basic human right, rather than the prospect of a fairytale wedding.

It has been the case that to even to be partnered was to paint a target on one's back. Then, to be out was to take a risk, potentially a big one where the cost could be one's family, home, job, and everything. That's why self-loathing gays like Wyatt/bad anonymous choose to have anonymous promiscuous sex in public places rather than settle down with a loving partner.

Trump administration response: End funding for researching teen suicide.Marriage equality being beneficial makes perfect sense, so naturally, Trump and his thugs will do all they can to reverse the trend. This must not be allowed to happen.So true:

Never doubt that some anti-gay bigots are consciously aware that their behavior is causing teen suicides and use that as motivation to continue.

Having an actual future to look forward to; instead of asphyxiation inside airless closets of "mandatory-heterosexuality," helped a lot. A full civil rights bill would have been even better. Who would have thought if you give people the hope of finding love and acceptance in the future it will help them get past the rough time today.

“The President’s sudden acknowledgement is a Band-Aid on the cancer of Antisemitism that has infected his own Administration. His statement today is a pathetic asterisk of condescension after weeks in which he and his staff have committed grotesque acts and omissions reflecting Antisemitism, yet day after day have refused to apologize and correct the record. Make no mistake: The Antisemitism coming out of this Administration is the worst we have ever seen from any Administration. The White House repeatedly refused to mention Jews in its Holocaust remembrance, and had the audacity to take offense when the world pointed out the ramifications of Holocaust denial. And it was only yesterday, President’s Day, that Jewish Community Centers across the nation received bomb threats, and the President said absolutely nothing. When President Trump responds to Antisemitism proactively and in real time, and without pleas and pressure, that’s when we’ll be able to say this President has turned a corner. This is not that moment.”1.5K Likes192 Comments1.4K Shares

Here's what he said: "When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

"Some, I assume are good people."

What does he "assume" of the other Mexicans who come to America?

Well, here's what he stated just that one day, not counting what he said about the judge of Mexican descent in his fraudulent Trump U lawsuit, for which he paid out millions to settle his fraud.

What other conclusion can we reach given the chief policy proposals being put forward by President-elect Trump and the leaders of his Republican Party? There's no definition of "great" that includes millions more people getting sick and dying. Yet, by all measures, everything they're proposing related to health will lead to just that.

Though Obamacare repeal is far from a certain outcome, the Republican-controlled Congress has taken the initial steps necessary to get rid of President Obama's signature legislative accomplishment. Various Republicans have developed half-baked proposals with which to replace Obamacare, but despite having almost seven years to do so, the party as a whole is as close to coalescing around an alternative plan as they are to finding Jimmy Hoffa's body. In other words, if they do anything, it's going to be repealing Obamacare without quickly replacing it – contrary to what they've recently promised.

What will that mean for Americans? On Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office gave us the answer: If Obamacare is repealed, nearly 20 million people will lose their health insurance, in the first year alone. Factoring in the complete loss of Medicaid expansion and marketplace subsidies, that number would increase to 32 million.

If it's not obvious, losing health insurance is not just an inconvenience to Americans, but rather quite serious, if not outright deadly. An exchange captured last week between Paul Ryan and a constituent illustrates this: Jeff Jeans, who said he was a Republican who'd been opposed to Obamacare because he thought it would shut down his small business, explained to Ryan that, after he was diagnosed with cancer at 49, his life was saved because of the health care law. "Because of the Affordable Care Act, I'm standing here today," he said. "I rely on the Affordable Care Act to be able to purchase my own insurance. ... I want to thank President Obama from the bottom of my heart, because I'd be dead if it weren't for him."

Trump campaigned on blaming Obamacare for increased health insurance premiums. But the second conclusion from the CBO's report finds that, relative to Obamacare's current framework, if it were repealed, premiums would increase by 20 to 25 percent in the first year of repeal. When Medicaid expansion and marketplace subsidies are eventually eliminated, premiums would almost double.

Tens of millions of Americans losing health insurance, and those with health insurance seeing huge increases in their premiums: that's a disastrous path for American health care.

But it's not only the repeal of Obamacare that will lead to a sicker America. Everything the Republican Party says it wants to do with respect to reproductive health, abortion and trans health care points in the same direction.

The most prominent GOP proposal in this area is to defund Planned Parenthood. This tagline policy is deceptive, as Planned Parenthood does not receive a lump sum from the federal government. Rather, like many other health care providers, when Planned Parenthood treats women who qualify under Medicaid and other federal programs, Planned Parenthood is reimbursed for the services. These reimbursed services – which, because of federal law, do not include abortion – do include other critical services like pap smears, mammograms, STI testing and other routine and non-routine reproductive health care.

The proposed federal law would disqualify Planned Parenthood from being reimbursed for these services. This would affect roughly 2.5 million people who obtain their health care from Planned Parenthood and would have devastating effects, especially for people of colour, indigent people, and people in rural areas, all of whom rely heavily on Planned Parenthood's services.

We know this because it's already happened in Texas and Wisconsin. Both of those states have cut state funding for Planned Parenthood, resulting in clinics closing throughout both states. The theory that the states advanced was that community health centers would serve the patients Planned Parenthood used to serve. However, in neither state is there evidence that this has happened. In fact, health officials in both states have seen an increase in STDs, a rise in unplanned pregnancies and longer wait times for services.

If this were replicated nationwide, Planned Parenthood's chief medical officer told The Guardian there would "truly be a national healthcare disaster."

But wait, there's more. Republicans have talked about rolling back requirements that health insurers cover contraception, a key form of preventive medicine for women. Abortion restrictions likely to be tackled by the new Congress would put women's health and safety at risk. And on New Year's Eve, Republicans won a court victory blocking a federal rule from taking effect that would have prohibited discrimination against trans individuals in health care, as well as women who previously had abortions.

Add it all up, and the message is clear. Republicans aren't making America greater; they're making us sicker.

You weren't paying attention. Phil Robertson, the "Duck Dynasty" guy is famous for saying:

"They got to where they're getting hard to find, mainly because these boys are waiting 'til they get to be about 20 years old before they marry 'em," Robertson says in a video clip that resurfaced Monday. "Look, you wait 'til they get to be 20 years old, the only picking that's going to take place is your pocket. You got to marry these girls when they are about 15 or 16. They'll pick your ducks."

Then of course, there was the criminal child sex abuse going on in the Duggar family:

"We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling," he said. "I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life."

Duggar was never charged with a crime, and the statute of limitations has now expired.

InTouch reported that his father took Duggar to an Arkansas state trooper who was a personal friend, who took no action other than a "very stern talk." That officer is now serving a 56-year term in prison for child pornography, the magazine reported, and no case was ever brought against Duggar."

Gee, I wonder why they picked THAT officer to take him to? Did they know about his child pornography? Or is that just de rigueur for the folks the Duggars hang around with?

"They got him out of the house and sent him to a non-professional Christian-based counseling program in Little Rock, Ark. Jim Bob Duggar said it was "the best decision" they made, because Josh became "closer to God" as a result. "It was a turning point in his life," he said."

So, according to these Christians, it's bette for child molestors to find God than actually be punished for their sexual child abuse.

Cynthia, lets not forget that Trump saw a 10 year old girl on an escalator and commented on how attractive she was and how he might be dating her in a few years.

Conservatives like Wyatt aren't offended by pedophilia when its an old man lusting after a little girl, its only when its a man lusting after a boy they pretend they think there's something wrong with it.

I'm not sure - I don't keep a list, but off the top of my head I certainly recall "Cynco (the Psycho)," "confused guy who thinks he's a girl," "communist," "socialist," "fascist," "climate totalitarian," "part of the gay lunatic fringe," and I think "moron" wound its way in there a few times.

"If I'm not smart, why do you guys say I'm a bully when I out-argue you?"

You are certainly more argumentative than most people, but that doesn't mean you actually win the arguments. You don't require actual facts to win your arguments. You simply believe you won the arguments because you don't know any better. The assertion of a broad but as-of-yet un-found liberal conspiracy theory is enough in your mind to "win" and argument.

"I'm just saying that just because you think you are something, it doesn't mean you are"

Yeah, keep thinking you're "winning" all those arguments Anon.

"no, it's always pushing new boundaries of hypersensitivity

so, if you like Chinese food or you're a white who likes hip-hop, you're culturally appropriating"

Oh, so sorry to hear your rap career was thwarted by accusations of cultural appropriation. Clearly, the left has gone WAY to far.

Wake me up when someone actually proposes some "cultural appropriation" bills; otherwise this isn't really a problem, it's just you finding something else to whine about.

"this obsession with identity politics has hurt a lot of minorities"

Angry old white Christian conservative is an identity too, but keep pretending you're not playing "identity politics" if it makes you feel better.

"gee, I thought you said Hillary won the popular vote"

She did. And that was in spite of a concerted effort by conservatives to suppress democratic and minority votes in at least a dozen states that we know did it openly:

http://fortune.com/2016/11/07/minority-voters-election/

http://fortune.com/2016/10/30/trump-voter-supression-operations/

When it looks like Republicans can't win the vote, they work extra hard to minimize how many people come out to vote.

"Republican lawmakers were “giddy” about voter suppression.

On the opening day of the trial, a former staffer for a lead Republican state senator disclosed that while the voter ID bill was being debated, its supporters spoke behind closed doors about their true motives. Then-Senate aide Todd Allbaugh told the court that while lawmakers publicly declaring that the purpose of the bill was combating voter fraud, they said in private meeting: “What I’m concerned about here is winning.”

Allbaugh said several Republican representatives were “giddy” and “politically frothing at the mouth” over the prospect that the voter ID law would make it more difficult to vote for those likely to support Democrats. He said the experience made him leave the GOP entirely after being an active Republican for his entire adult life.One of the same Republican lawmakers Allbaugh called out by name, Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI), recently told a local TV reporter he thinks the voter ID law will help Donald Trump win Wisconsin this November."

I wonder who would have won the election if so many democratic voters weren't systematically disenfranchised.

Wyatt/bad anonymous said "which do you prefer, cinco, reform or punishment?".

There's that constant slur you use towards Cynthia again.

That's very hypocritical of you to ask that question implying it was better that the pedophile Josh Duggar not be punished when when its a democrat you allege has committed a crime you demand that they be "put in jail".

And let's not forget how you've cheered on the imprisonment and execution of people for engaging in gay sex.

So, yeah, we gotchya - Conservatives shouldn't be punished, liberals should be imprisoned or executed.

In a surprise Betsy Devos, Trumps appointment for Deparment of Education, objected to rescinding Obama's order that allowed trans students to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with. Trump overruled her and rescinded those protections.

Yes, he's certainly proving to be the mostest LGBTQ-friendly president evah.

The Trump Administrations' Education Priority: Preventing a very tiny minority of students who already experience social stigma and open hatred, from peeing.

Donald Trump has been president for all or part of 33 days. He has averaged four falsehoods or misleading statements a day(!) in that time. There hasn't been a single day of Trump's presidency in which he has said nothing false or misleading.

Trump is Wyatt's kind of guy. Wyatt's motto is "there are many situations where its appropriate to lie".

“A secretly recorded video, fake names, a grand jury indictment, congressional investigations — these are the building blocks of a best-selling novel rather than a case concerning interplay of federal and state authority through the Medicaid program,” Sparks wrote in the ruling. “Yet, rather than a villain plotting to take over the world, the subject of this case is the State of Texas’s efforts to expel a group of health care providers from a social health care program for families and individuals with limited resources.”

...Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office would appeal the ruling, claiming that the undercover videos “exposed a brazen willingness by Planned Parenthood officials to traffic in fetal body parts, as well as manipulate the timing and method of an abortion.”

Trump desperately wants to keep them a secret as they will reveal ties to Russia.

Trump 2017:

"I own nothing in Russia, I have no loans in Russia, I don't have any deals in Russia". "I have nothing to do with Russia, I told you. I have no deals there, I have no anything...I have nothing to do with Russia, to the best of my knowledge no person that I deal with does"

Donald Trump Jr. statement 2013:

"Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets...we see a lot of money pouring in from Russia".

Sorry Charlie but your Grab Our Pussy party is having nothing but trouble this week as they return home outside of the beltway to meet their real constituents.

They are finding out how much the Orange Asshole's agenda their constituents do not want to be part of from the repeal of the Affordable Care Act to the banning of a religious group from the promise of America to the love of Putin Trump professes and the secret communications with Russia and the Trump campaign during the election.

And there are a whole lot of Americans who are not interested in resuming a nuclear arms race with the Russians to the "top of the pack", especially since the thousands of nuclear weapons the US and Russia already control are overkill, that is more than enough to kill every human being.

No, instead of an arms race, Americans want investigations into the influence of Russia in the election.

"Republicans distance themselves from Trump’s agenda at rowdy town halls"

politicians are like that

they don't stand for anything so they fall for anything

on the ACA, for example, they have always opposed Trump

Trump wants a plan that guarantees health insurance for all Americans but says Obamacare has failed to do that

the GOP in Congress have simply favored eliminating Obamacare, without concern for the consequences

the American people agree with Trump

"They don't want to go down with him given Donald Trump's First Presidential Approval Ratings Are a Record Low"

any statements from Congressmen saying that?

or are you lying again?

Trump, btw, has always been personally unpopular

becoming President hasn't made much change because he hasn't changed much

he's kind of a despicable person

he's a lot like a TTFer in that way

the average American doesn't favor TTF-type groups

"And there are a whole lot of Americans who are not interested in resuming a nuclear arms race with the Russians to the "top of the pack", especially since the thousands of nuclear weapons the US and Russia already control are overkill, that is more than enough to kill every human being."

well, Trump wants to get along with Russia so you're getting yourself tied up in knots here

you may remember, during the campaign, Jill Stein said Americans shouldn't vote for Hillary because she'll start a nuclear war with the Russians

"No, instead of an arms race, Americans want investigations into the influence of Russia in the election."

a complete non sequitur

Russia acted in this election the way they always do

it's suddenly the apocalypse, if you believe the media-liberal complex, because they favored the Republican when they usually prefer the Dem

anyway, there's little evidence that what they did, if anything, affected the outcome

what really needs to be investigated is how phone conversations between Trump and foreign leaders are getting leaked to the media

we should be highly disturbed if the intelligence community is trying to bring down an elected President

someone should tell the American people about that

the liberal-media complex is covering it up

and it's a much greater threat to democracy than a second rate economic power in another hemisphere hacking our email

As a member of Congress, I believed that listening to my constituents was the most basic and core tenet of the job I was hired to do. So I was a little surprised yesterday to hear Congressman Louie Gohmert invoke my shooting as a reason not to face his constituents at a public town hall.

I was shot on a Saturday morning. By Monday morning my offices were open to the public. Ron Barber – at my side that Saturday, who was shot multiple times, then elected to Congress in my stead – held town halls. It’s what the people deserve in a representative.

So to Congressman Gohmert and others who are abandoning their civic obligations, I say this: Have a little courage. Face your constituents. Hold town halls.

Many of the members of Congress who are refusing to hold town halls and listen to their constituents' concerns are the very same politicians that have opposed commonsense gun violence prevention policies and have allowed the Washington gun lobby to threaten the safety of law enforcement and everyday citizens in our schools, businesses, places of worship, airports, and movie theaters.

In the past year, campaigning for gun safety, I have held over 50 public events. And if I am still willing to do it, they should be too. And when they change course, I hope you’ll show up and let ‘em hear how you feel about this important issue.

"...Speaker Paul Ryan’s constituents in Wisconsin asked him for a town hall meeting during recess, but Ryan’s staff remained cagey about his whereabouts. The real reason he wasn’t hanging out back home in Janesville? Ryan prioritized meeting with wealthy contributors over constituents.

Ryan began the recess with a “Winter PAC Retreat” last weekend at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne in Miami, an event that welcomed donors who have given “a minimum contribution of $10,000″ to the Team Ryan joint fundraising committee. That’s Ryan’s special PAC that can raise as much as $244,200 per person.

Since the event in Miami, the speaker has toured Texas and California hosting events for the PAC in Corpus Christi, Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and Menlo Park.

Wyoming residents asked Sen. John Barrasso to attend a town hall meeting with them this week while Congress is out of session, but his press secretary demurred, telling reporters that the senator already has community events on his schedule.

What the press secretary didn’t say was that Barrasso this week has a ski resort fundraiser, held Friday and Saturday in Jackson Hole. He’s asking donors to provide $5,000 per political action committee or $1,500 per individual.

After videos of his fellow Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton being dressed down by a 7-year old named Toby at a town hall on Wednesday made national headlines, Sen. John Boozman canceled his in-person town hall, scheduled for Friday. He said on Thursday that he will now hold a town hall on Monday — but over the phone, and only for people who sign up ahead of time.

Constituents who insist on seeing Boozman in person will have to pay. Also on Monday, Boozman is hosting a fundraiser that costs $500 per attendee.

Boozman was out of state for at least part of the congressional recess — attending two fundraisers at a resort in Palm Beach. The Florida event invitation shows attendees were asked to pay $1,000 per ticket.

Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, who won office in 2010 by drawing attention to town-hall anger directed at his Democratic opponent, has refused repeated requests by constituents to schedule a town hall — but has found time to schedule a $1,000 per person fundraiser this coming Tuesday at Acqua Al, a pricey Italian eatery on Capitol Hill.

Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas held town halls during the congressional recess in previous years, but not this year.

Cornyn, however, is hosting a $500 per person fundraiser on Monday at Nopa Kitchen + Bar, a trendy D.C. brasserie, while Thune is offering individuals who pay $1,000 or more the pleasure of watching the Washington Wizards v. Golden State Warriors basketball game with him on Tuesday.

What are they so afraid of? GOP candidates have run on pledges to repeal President Obama’s signature health insurance reform law for the last four federal election cycles. But at a recent town hall, when one constituent asked Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., how she could afford medical coverage for her daughter if ACA subsidies are repealed, the congressman had no answer. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., left his town hall early under mounting questions about his position on Obamacare repeal, leading to a viral video of him fleeing the building.

By contrast, the fundraising events underscore the immutable reality in a money-driven Congress that donors have priority over regular constituents. A 2015 study by academics Joshua Kalla and David Broockman found that members of Congress are 231% more likely to hold meetings with individuals who have contributed money to their campaigns than those that have not.

"A 2015 study by academics Joshua Kalla and David Broockman found that members of Congress are 231% more likely to hold meetings with individuals who have contributed money to their campaigns than those that have not."

this is one reason Hillary lost

she wanted to spend all her time hanging out with celebs and wealthy donors

afraid to hold a press conference

until she got the nomination, she spent a lot of time not leaving the house

meanwhile, Trump was holding several rallies a day

(of course, just last week, TTFers were complaining that Trump was holding a public rally. ya can't win with these a-holes)